[Sca-cooks] Wafer Iron

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Oct 1, 2008, at 2:40 PM, Elise Fleming wrote:

>
> Greetings!  While visiting my daughter in San Francisco, I succumbed  
> to a wafer iron that we saw in a culinary antique store.  You can  
> see photos at
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/8311418@N08/ .  I've got some  
> questions, though, especially for iron workers such as Phlip.  While  
> the store says that they are old, is there any way to really tell  
> based on the construction?

Probably, yes, up to a point. Not that I'd know what that point is,  
but for example, it's conceivable the tong/handle section is riveted  
to the iron section to keep them from getting as hot as it might if it  
were made in one piece, or maybe the irons could be replaced easily by  
knocking out the rivets.

I'm thinking the nicks on the edge might be from whacking the iron on  
edge to dislodge wafers...

>  Also, I remember that the shop said the round part was brass.   
> Could it be bronze or is brass correct?

It _looks_ like brass, although I'd rather use bronze, since brass is  
less heat resistant and contains lead, as I recall.

>  And, given how shallow the part that takes the batter, these would  
> make very thin wafers, right?  Because if you added lots of batter,  
> it would squoosh out the sides and into the fire.

This happens with modern wafer irons, too.

>  Any comments about using this for real??


I don't see why not, if you used a non-acidic batter and a reasonably  
stable, lowish heat source.

Adamantius


"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls,  
when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's  
bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter