Food column: Uses plentiful for that dusty, ol' waffle iron

It sits on a shelf gathering dust most of the year, only used on the occasional lazy Sunday. It may have been a gift or handed down. Now, instead of being stored away, the waffle iron may become one of the most used appliances in the kitchen.

The waffle iron can be an amazingly useful and versatile tool for cooks with a bit of creativity. Since a waffle iron heats from both sides and has a fairly wide range of heat settings, it can be used to make everything from hash browns to grilled cheese.

Warning: Using any appliance for anything it was not originally designed may void any warranty. Read and follow all safety advice that came with the appliance. Waffle makers get extremely hot. Unplug and cool completely before cleaning.

Waffle makers come in a variety of styles, from simple squares to deep Belgian-style. The type will determine how well a waffle iron will cook certain ingredients.

I compared a modern Belgian waffle maker and a 25-year-old square waffle maker to cook hash browns, shredded zucchini and a grilled cheese, The square-style maker has reversible plates, so it can be used to make waffles or as a sandwich press.

To begin, use a silicone pastry brush to spread vegetable oil on the top and bottom grids before adding food.

After a few experiments, I found both irons needed to be set near the highest setting. The Belgian maker was able to hit far higher temperatures, so was best for ingredients that needed a crispy crust. The spaces were also deeper, so more ingredients could be packed in the narrower space. Since the Belgian iron locks and flips, there was no need to add a weight as with the standard iron.

The hash browns from the Belgian iron were cooked all the way through, but had a softer center surrounded by a crunchy layer. The standard waffle maker made hash browns that were fairly crispy all the way through, but it did not get quite hot enough to really crisp up.

Shredded zucchini came out tasty and nicely browned, but was still just steamed inside. It was the most difficult to get out of the waffle iron and required more cleanup. Juicy vegetables such as squash need to be drained of liquid and would do well with a binder of some sort.

A grilled cheese sandwich came out of the Belgian iron crunchy and gooey, with crisp bits of cheese at the edges. The regular iron worked even better; the outside was crisp, with dark indentations and lighter — but still crisp — sections between the marks.

The square grill worked perfectly for little pork breakfast sausages. A dozen fit easily. Use a can of tomatoes as a press. The Belgian iron cooked the sausages more quickly and locked down, but the sausages came out misshapen.

So dust off that underappreciated appliance and experiment with various dishes. In my kitchen, there is a pound of pork sausage waiting to be mashed and crisped in the Belgian iron and a package of bacon ready to go into the standard waffle maker.

Steve “Mo” Fye is the food columnist for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @UncaMo