Waffles – They’re Not Just For Breakfast Anymore

The waffle has often been viewed as more of a breakfast curiosity than anything else. It is a side dish that has been little more than a side thought in a diner on a side street. Then came the advent of the waffle house. The waffle house is a marvelous invention that has recognized the amazing possibilities behind (and in front of) the pastry-like dough concoction pressed between two plates of intricately cubed steel that makes the crispy golden brown treats what they have become – nirvana on a mortal plane, available to people the world over.

Do we dare delve into the history of the waffle? Dare to delve I say, so I will. Waffles originally were mined in the small Dutch village of Wafele de Coup, which interestingly enough roughly translates into the English phrase “overthrow the biscuit.” This would soon be recognized as a possibility once the secret of manufacturing waffles rather than mining them, was unearthed. (Sorry, no pun intended. Sorry again, the pun was intended and the sentence prior to this one was a lie.)

A marriage of sorts happened shortly after the historic merger of the hotdog and the bun, at the world’s fair in St Louis in 1904. It was, in fact, a German butcher named  Johann Georg Lahner who developed the prototype hotdog on a roll, but he called in a “Dachsund sausage” as a tribute to the dog of the same name. How that ended up translating as hot dog, no one really knows, but the fact remains. That world’s fair was pivotal in a few devices including the belt worn change machine and the ice cream cone, which directly relates to our main topic of waffles. The original waffle cone was in fact a rolled waffle, shaped like a funnel, which was used to contain ice cream.

This in turn led to the waffle ice cream sandwich and the rest, as we say, is history. But it is not very well known history. Waffles were often the butt of jokes at bread conventions – they were the ugly step-sister to their refined cousins the ryes and wheats which dominated the world market for years. (I refuse to include the word “white” in the same sentence as “domination” for fear of cries of racism, although to be truthful whites did outsell wheats for many years, so there was a bit of white domination there. Oops. didn’t mean to say that. sorry)

well, do ya?

A breakthrough (of sorts) occurred when a small French boy (whose name has unfortunately been lost in history) placed a piece of roast beef between two waffles that had been used as props for a comedy bit for a baker’s convention in Marseilles. The boy fished the discarded waffles and a bit of spoiled beef out of a garbage bin and declared, “Comte de baiser de sandwich mon extrémité arrière” which translates as “Earl of Sandwich, I have triumphed.” Sadly the roast beef was past its “best eaten by” date and the boy contracted salmonella and died.

Yet his invention lives on in the hearts of millions. Invention may be too strong a word, but you do know what I mean. That was the moment in time that was like a hinge. The dead boy’s immortal words have spawned an industry that would be king. To tell you any different would be waffling.

Tagged as: dachshund sausage, hot dog, humor, johann lahner, robert britt, waffles