Waffles have been around since the 14th century.
And people loved them then, too. The earliest known recording of a waffle recipe is in an anonymous manuscript called Le Ménagier de Paris, which was a set of instructions written by a Frenchman for his young wife. In it, the waffle-loving writer describes his own waffle recipe and even mentions an “iron”, leading historians to believe waffle irons were invented in the 13th-14th century.
Thomas Jefferson brought to first waffle iron to America.
Life, liberty and the pursuit of waffles. Yes, one of our nation’s forefathers brought to us the modern waffle. Crude waffles had been made in the States since the pilgrims brought over the recipe 100 year previously, but this was the first, fancy French waffle maker to grace the U.S. of A.
Waffles inspired Nike’s first sneakers.
Appropriately enough, they were called the Waffle Trainer. Bill Bowerman was watching his wife use their waffle iron one morning in 1971 when he was suddenly struck by the honeycomb shape of the waffle. He realized it would be the perfect shape for the sole of an athletic sneaker. Then, Bowerman actually used a waffle iron to create the first Nike sneaker sole.
The word “waffle” has Dutch origins.
Although we have proof that waffles may have gotten their start in France or even ancient China, the word “waffle” is descended from the Dutch word for “wafer”. The first use of the actual word “waffle” in the English language was in 1725. We have been a nation of waffle lovers for almost 300 years, people.
The Waffle House has sells 145 waffles a minute.
In total, since its inception 60 years ago, The Waffle House has sold 877 million waffles, half of which I will gladly take credit for. With that statistic, it’s not surprising that The Waffle House has solidified itself as the major waffle chain in the country.