Hamilton Beach 26680 Belgian Waffle Iron
by Hamilton Beach

Category: Kitchen
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Product Summary

• Round, Belgian-style grid cooks one waffle
• Adjustable heat control with five settings
• Preheat/ready light
• Nonstick griddle requires no grease, cleans up easily

Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Hamilton Beach 26680 Belgian Waffle Iron

Customer Review: Classic Good Looks and Peformance to Match
Summary: 5 Stars

Either way, you get a waffle baker that turns out consistently tall, consistently baked waffles with 5 minutes of cooking time. The variable darkness control lets you lighten or darken the waffle to your family's preference, from light blond to dark mahogany, with the outer crispness following the darkness. It's also handy for compensating for different batter recipes without having to calculate a new baking time.

The circular grid bakes a plate-filling 4-section waffle that can be enjoyed whole by hearty eaters or broken into quarters for those with smaller appetites, as the base of a waffle sundae dessert or even as the foundation for an out-of-the-ordinary strawberry shortcake. Serve 'em in half to leave room on the plate when you're having oven-fried chicken and waffles for dinner (try it some time!).

The lower grid is surrounded by a black plastic outer case that stays relatively cool, so overflows won't bake onto the outside of the iron. The upper grid, however, is sheathed in chromed stainless steel that gets very hot to the touch, so be sure to exercise due caution when young children are present. On the plus side, a squirt of Windex and a wipe with a paper towel (when the iron is cool and unplugged, of course) are all that's needed to make the outside case shine like new. Go ahead and use Windex on the plastic parts, too. Just remember to never, never, never, EVER wash the grids. The nonstick surface makes the Hamilton Beach Belgian Variable Heat Waffle Baker perform like a family heirloom that's been seasoned with generations of use, even when it's brand new, but washing the grids will only mean having to re-season the grids when it's not necessary. Just allow it to cool, brush out any crumbs and wrap the cord around the storage reel in the bottom of the iron.

One minor design aspect that only poses a problem if your waffle batter tends to be too squirty is the channel in which the darkness control rides. A cascade of batter over the front will get inside the channel. Once the iron is cool, you can easily remove 2 screws on the underside of the iron and take off the bottom cover of the control channel to clean out the gunk. Adequate practice in pouring the right amount of batter will overcome this.

Aside from that, the Hamilton Beach Belgian Variable Heat Waffle Baker comes close in performance to a professional Belgian waffler. And it looks great, too.

Description of Hamilton Beach 26680 Belgian Waffle Iron

Waffle Irons

• Kitchen & Dining > Small Appliances > Waffle Irons