Hi William,

William Sommerwerck wrote:
No one has addressed at length (I've only covered it briefly)
the basic issue -- the counter-intuitiveness of the way
waffles are cooked while the grill is /returning/ to its "correct"
temperature. Most forms of cooking are normally done at
constant temperature.

But, is that *intentional* or just a consequence of the way the
device was hysterically made?

I don't know!!! You tell me!!! Why would anyone get upset over making
waffles??? There's really no need for it!!! You don't want to go running
around the kitchen like a chicken with its head cut off!!! (Unless you're
making chicken and waffles!!!) It would be too, too dangerous!!!

Waffles are one of the few quick-cooking foods that cannot be seen while
they're cooking, so some quasi-automated cooking system seems necessary. If

I'm not sure I agree with your reasoning -- necessary vs. desirable.
Consider that you probably only make a few waffles at a time. And,
apparently, the time involved is long enough that small variations
in timing have (probably) minimal effect on the finished product.

Contrast this with pizzelles: you make 50 or more at a time
and the difference between 25 seconds and 35 seconds is enough to
go from "raw" to "burned". Add to that, the variations due to a
"cold iron" and *this* surely seems more the appliance for which
automated cooking would be more "necessary"! :

(that's not mentioning the truly *old* technique of using the
stovetop as the heat source!)

the grill has a sufficiently low thermal mass to cool quickly when the
batter falls on it, and the heating elements deliver the right amount of
heat to restore the temperature and cook the waffles by the time the
thermostat kicks out again, you have, in effect, a timing mechanism that
adds nothing to the cost of the unit.

While we're on the issue of thermostats... Most (if not all) modern toaster
ovens have dropped the conventional double-thermostat system for making

Correct. Though that had recently devolved to a single thermostat.

toast. You now set a mechanical timer of questionable utility. (There are

Ours is electronic. I often jokingly "play" with it as if it was
some sort of alien communication device (it has a dozen or more
LEDs and all sorts of buttons on it -- way too comlicated for
something designed to BURN BREAD!)

You need the "hot knife" from HHGTTG! (now *that* was cool!)

two toast symbols at the extremes, and no marks between.) I carelessly
burned some bread the other morning; had the sprinkler system gone off, I'd
still be drying out the condo.

Does anyone know how to remove smoke stains from glass? I've tried any
number of strong organic solvents (including MEK), and nothing -- not even
citrus solvent -- seems to dissolve it very well.

Try vinegar, water and copious amounts of elbow grease?