National Waffle Day Chocolate Comparison

Today is "National Waffle Day" which marks the date that the first U.S.A patent for a waffle iron granted in 1869 to one Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York.   His was a device that was used in coal stoves to make the baked good by rotating it within a metal griddle with a closed lid within the hot stove.  What separates a waffle from a pancake is that the waffle is made between two layers of metal and not flipped in the open air as a pancake would be.  Pancakes may go back as far as the 1300s to Greece where there are reports of a similar product being produced though that appears to be a savory and not a sweet dish as it completely used today.

Of course you can make either a sweet or savory dish by adding chocolate to your waffle mix or topping it with chocolate treats.  I've reviewed a mini baking chip in the past that I used to make waffles but today your Chocolate Priestess wants to compare two easily made waffle treats that you can find in a wide number of locations.  I found both of these in our local Super Target store when they were on sale back in June 2010.

Eggo are probably familiar to you.  They are generally so-so waffles that you can pop in your toaster and make, good for kids who want to make their own breakfast, good for a quick breakfast when your family wants waffles and you don't want to get the iron out to make them yourself.  They have a chocolate chip variety in a 12.3oz box that contains 10 waffles.  Every two waffles equals one serving with 210 calories made of 2.5g saturated fat, 15mg cholesterol, 380mg sodium, 50mg potassium, 1g fiber, 9g sugars, and 4g protein.  Eggos also brag that they contain 10 vitamins and minerals ranging from 10-20% of the daily amounts you need of each particular one.

You can make these in three different ways: toaster, oven or toaster oven.  I prefer the oven myself because they all get fairly evenly baked; I don't have a toaster oven so I can't say how evenly they would bake in that.  I actually baked them frozen for twice the amount of time recommended, flipping them over at the five minute mark and baking for another full five minutes.  The chocolate here tastes sweeter than a semi-sweet and is made from cocoa and chocolate.  As you can see in the photo, you can see the chips in the waffles themselves.  The problem is that these get hard very quickly.   You either need syrup or butter to make them less tough unless you eat them right away.  Alone they aren't terribly sweet or terribly bitter, just a generic flavor really.  They cannot compare to the waffles I make my family.

I didn't know this until I saw it on the nearby shelf, but Smucker's also makes a frozen waffle called "Snack'n Waffles" that have a chocolate chip variety.  A 2oz box costs as much as the Eggo box which is 10X bigger and contains 4 waffles.  Each one has 220 calories with 3g saturated fat, 25mg cholesterol, 230mg sodium, 2g fiber, 15g sugars, 5g protein with 2% vitamin A and calcium along with 4% of the iron you need each day.  In a serving to serving comparison, Eggos are better for you but how did their taste compare?

I made these exactly as I did the Eggos, in the oven, so the comparison would be fair.  In terms of our senses, taste included, these Smucker's waffles are larger, about twice as thick, but smaller in turns of radius.  They have a lot of sugar in them and so you don't need to add extra unless you are really a sugar fiend.  They are easily held in your hand to eat if you like and very, very sweet with a hint of bitterness when you find a chocolate chip.  You can see these chips as easily as with the Eggos.  Overall these tasted better to my entire family.  Ultimately it comes down to taste versus nutrition but remember you'll need to add syrup to the Eggo to have an equal comparison between the two.

If waffles are not enough of a reason to celebrate, today is also "Vesuvius Day" marking the 79 CE explosion of that volcano which buried three Roman cities in a matter of hours.   Hhmmm.... I wonder if I could find a way to combine both holidays next year?  An edible volcano made of waffles?  What do you all think?

Sources Used for this Post:
Mr. Breakfast
Holiday Insights