Rome Industries Old Fashioned Waffle Cast Iron, Black

This is a perfectly fine waffle iron. Anyone experiencing rusting hasn't properly seasoned their iron, which is crucial for both protecting it and cooking with it. Also, many are confusing the protective wax with stuck on batter, but that's simply false. The wax does need to be removed, but without it and seasoning, the iron would be rusty. Many of the bad reviews are simply user error. Don't be put off by them. There's a learning curve to cast iron cookware, but it's a rewarding hobby. I'll leave my impression of this waffle iron and all the steps I used to get it ready and cooking with it.I had a used nonstick belgian waffle maker that lost its coating, so any attempt to make waffles would just stick. However, I wanted something I could keep forever without worrying about a nonstick coating failure. They're convenient, but they're expensive and such a waste. And vintage cast iron waffle makers are nice, but they're so expensive. There's very few brand new cast iron waffle makers you can buy now, but Rome is one of the few. The design takes up little room and isn't too heavy, bulky, or over-engineered. This allows it to remain an affordable option, that and being made in China probably helps cut down on costs too. I'd love a new American made piece, but there just aren't many options. However, I've been very pleased with this waffle iron overall.The iron arrived with a coating of wax, which was quite thick in some areas. Scrubbing it would've been a pain, so I put them in a 500° oven till it stopped smoking. There was a lot of smoke, so be warned. I had to run my air, a fan, air filter, and open the window to help clear it out. Eventually, I was left with bare iron. Next, it needed to be seasoned, as it wasn't seasoned from the factory like Lodge cast iron is.To season, I did this process 4 times. On the outside, I poured a small amount of canola oil and spread it in all the nooks and crannies with a paper towel. Then, I used a fresh paper towel to wipe it all off. This may seem counterintuitive, but you will be left with a very thin coating of oil on the outside. When it's heated enough, it will polymerize and become a layer of seasoning. If too much oil is left on it, it will become sticky and hard to scrub off. Thinner is better when it comes to seasoning. The inside would be so hard to do with paper towels, so I found that using a pastry brush with a very light amount of oil does the job. Use the pastry brush to spead it everywhere on the inside, leaving only a thin layer. Your do not want any oil pooling in the waffle part, so be conservative in how much is used. After there's a thin layer all over, place it in a 400° oven for an hour, then turn it off and let it cool in the oven. Repeat this process 3-4 times to build up a good base coating.After it is properly seasoned, you can begin cooking! My first attempt didn't go over so well. I cooked them for 3 minutes, per the included instructions, and used a boxed waffle mix. However, it wasn't completely cooked and stuck. However, after some trial and error, I found that 375°-400° is the sweet spot. Preheat each side on a burner to that temp range, then use a pastry brush to lightly oil the inside. Also, wear oven mitts or welders gloves, as the short handles get very hot. Then pour in your batter, and cook on the first side for 3 minutes. After that, flip it over and cook on the other side for another 3 minutes, or maybe longer if needed. After this, you should have perfect waffles that releases beautifully. I used a butter knife to get it to come out, but it was completely effortless and fell out once I got it started. The more you cook with it, the better your seasoning will be on the inside.To find the temp of the irons, I'd strongly recommend getting an infrared thermometer. You get instant feedback on the temperature, and I use it a lot when cooking with my other cast iron skillets. It's especially helpful with cooking eggs. Once you have this, you can find the right settings on your range to get in the cooking temp-zone. I found that 3 was the perfect setting for my burners, but yours may vary. After figuring everything out, it's really not too bad making waffles. They aren't super thick, but they are still good sized waffles, in my opinion. Also, my batter didn't call for an egg, but I added it to hopefully give it more structure when cooked.You also might not need to clean it after every use, but if there is some waffle stuck to it, some hot water and a stiff brush will do the trick. Also, don't be afraid to use soap; it will not destroy your seasoning. After it's washed, wipe it off and place it on a burner for a few minutes to let the rest of the water evaporate. Don't let it air dry, as sitting water can and will rust your iron.This may not be as fast and easy as some of the electric waffle makers, but it is rewarding getting those perfect, delicious waffles that you carefully and skillfully made. Plus, if well taken care of, this can be something that is passed down through the generations. This is also a great alternative if you want less chemical-non-stick cookware. Overall, I'm very happy with my new waffle iron and can't wait to start cooking with it some more, especially when I go camping! This fits in well with the rest of my cast iron cookware. I'd highly recommend this to anyone, whether you're new to cast iron or someone more experienced.

For over three years, I planned to buy my very own waffle maker. I finally own one, one of the Rome Old Fashioned Waffle Irons. I love fresh Belgian waffles and longed for the ability to have them any time I wanted. I looked at big name brands on electronic waffle makers; including those, that multi-tasked making not just waffles but panini, etc. I had one of those type bookmarked for over a year and thought it might be the one. I changed my mind when I saw a type of non-stick copper griddle that Nostalgia Electrics sells, the GD20C, that caused me to select a Rome Old Fashioned Waffle Iron knowing it was the best for me.I bought one of the Nostalgia non stick copper griddles with warming tray to use with it and get much more use out of it. My spouse and I can fit our Rome Waffle Iron’s small size on our griddle, also make vegetarian soy Morningstar bacon and eggs next to it, and still make ourselves waffles. With the Nostalgia Electrics griddle’s warming tray, we can place our finished waffle in to keep warm while we cook our other waffle on holidays and weekends.Since it is cast iron, we can also use it outdoors in our back yard on weekends when we sometimes make wood smoked vegetarian breakfasts on our rolling fire pit. We gather wood from our trees we have trimmed. This we stack up in a spot in our backyard that is stone so we do not hurt the plants. We stack it decorative, making it look like a giant beaver dam that is up on land. This wood dries and we continually have ethical wood at the ready to cook outdoors with when we feel like it. I even make my own charcoal.I visited some people in Malawi, Africa and while I was there they showed me they made their own charcoal. These people did all of their cooking outdoors. Before this, I had no idea I could make my own charcoal. If you have a yard and want to gather ethical wood for a vegetarian barbeque I advise instead of purchasing wood you take some ethical wood trimmings (do not cut down a tree, you may have to wait until your pile of sticks/twig trimmings is large enough.) I gathered and pruned mine in my yard for over a year before we even bought our firepit. That is how we continually have enough wood because I spent a few years batching those twigs up in my yard before I purchased my firepit. Instead of buying a log rack my spouse and I constructed what resembles a giant beaver dam on our own land and one that is not in water so it looks unique. When I look out my back window I sometimes almost expect to see a giant 14 foot tall beaver with a paddle tail and a twig in his mouth, our wood pile is that cute to me. Since we have so many smaller pieces of wood, this would not have been the most logical best choice for us. We use our Works Jawsaw to cut the larger pieces to size. This is a very safe chainsaw and I can even cut wood sitting down with it. We oil it with high grade vegetable oil since we cook with it. When I trim I believe in the use of vegetable oil as it lubricates the cut made on the tree giving it helpful emollients. I never use machine oil when pruning.If you are interested in making your own charcoal it is very easy. Just let the fire extinguish on its own safely, make sure a spark screen is over it. This must be done overnight since it takes a while. When it is cool sift it. Homemade charcoal is what remains after the sifting. I sift my ash and coals with my spark screen. I repurpose snack bags, for example, organic corn chip and Cheeto bags and taking a funnel I fill these with the sifted homemade charcoal. I heat seal the filled bags of charcoal with my Foodsaver vacuum sealer. This is fantastic charcoal, better than any I have ever bought, and smells amazing and works great. Any person with a yard and an ethical wood fire can do something similar.I use my fantastic waffle iron in my back yard also as a type of pie iron, besides making waffles. I make homemade funnel cake mix and I can put this and homemade pizzelles mix in it. It has both indoor and outdoor uses for me.I can use it as a panini press when I make my paninis, turning it upside down and searing my vegetarian panini. As a result of buying my Rome Waffle Iron I no longer want a panini press, nor electric waffle maker nor pizzelle maker. My Rome Waffle Iron does it all, it is that fantastic! I appreciate the cast iron nature of it immensely and this is why I multi task it so much I am certain.These are so decorative! When mine is not in use I place it in my dining room on top of one of my mini heaters that looks a bit like a woodstove with a fake fire look-note these have very plastic looking legs that are only formed on one side, one of the AKDY 16" Retro-Style Floor Freestanding Vintage Electric Stove Heater Fireplace AK-ND-18D2P (Vintage Red) that are available new on Amazon. I recommend these little fake woodstove heaters with reservation. Do not expect these little electric woodstoves to look just like a woodstove or fireplace, they do not. But if you are okay with that as I am then these are adorable. The knobs do need to be painted with clear coat nail polish so they do not discolor over time. My waffle iron sitting there on mine in my dining room looks a lot like an old fashioned bed warmer from the 1800s and I look at it each time I eat in my little dining room unless it has just made waffles and is on my griddle in my kitchen of course. To make my wood stove much more realistic to me most mornings I take my Adaptive Sound Technologies Sound+Sleep SE Special Edition Sleep Sound Machine, White Noise Machine from my bedroom, and hiding it next to my woodstove set it on the sound of a fireplace to make my mini stove seem to come alive with the crackle of very realistic fireplace sound effect.These Rome Waffle Irons are so well made they ship with a lovely small folio type tag that is tied with twine that has recipes inside and gives instructions on how to season these waffle irons. I saved mine, carefully unwinding the twine and tied it to the handle of one of my small cabinets filled with mason jars I keep my various mueslis in to make custom homemade cereals with.If you are reading this, from the old fashioned sound of it you might assume I look old. Let me assure you I do not. I am a 5 foot nine inches tall type, very young looking, 24 inch waist, married, attractive female with a Baywatch figure who is a multi award winning writer, director, producer and formerly also acted. I also play many instruments and compose music. I happen to like what I have coined a ‘new’ fashioned look, which is a bit of a compendium of old and new. Obviously, I think house and home are very important and I am also a vegetarian for ethical reasons.I think these Rome Waffle Irons are the best quality well made, cast iron, small waffle irons.-Julie Sands

My in-home lead test kit showed a faint positive for lead, since it had been sitting in my garage for a long time, I can’t say for sure that it was the waffle iron and not some cross contamination from something else.I’m throwing mine away out of than an abundance of caution. I will say that, even if I hadn’t found a possible lead risk, it was nearly impossible to get this thing clean, which is why I hadn’t been able to use it yet. I’m certainly not ruling out User error, but I found it to be too much work.I tried to season it. I had it in my oven for a couple of hours. I wiped it. I tried to add my own seasoning oil that’s designed for cast-iron pans, and no matter what I did it just had this gunky residue on it.