One of the museum’s exhibits is an old German waffle iron, which was used to bake a set of five traditional heart-shaped waffles. Not every household had such a cast iron device, and its owners often shared it with neighbors. Waffle irons were highly valued, carefully preserved, and passed down to future generations of women.

Germans baked waffles both on weekdays and holidays. Waffles were sometimes served for breakfast and more often for dinner, when everyone would come home after work. According to some sources, waffles were served at wedding receptions. Waffles were especially popular in summer and fall. Usually, housewives made a lot of dough at the same time, so that there would be enough waffles for both the family and for neighbors and relatives living nearby.

There are many different waffle recipes. The lids of cast iron waffle makers sometimes featured old recipes tested by many generations of German housewives. The displayed waffle iron serves as an example of this tradition. The recipe includes the following ingredients: half a kilogram of butter, two grams of wet yeast, eight eggs, half a liter of milk, and one kilogram of flour.

Waffles were baked over an open fire. The waffle iron was heated over a hot stove, with the burner caps removed. The waffle iron consisted of two hinged cast iron plates: one was put in place of the removed burner cap, while the other was fixed with a hinge. The waffle iron was opened with the help of a semicircular loop on a wire with a radius of about 2.5 centimeters. Before starting to bake, the plates of the waffle iron were greased with pork fat, which did not produce smoke during baking. A ladle was used to scoop a little batter and pour it into the center of the plate, spreading it for even filling. After that, the iron was closed and placed on a cast iron base over the open fire. Such a design allowed the waffle iron to be conveniently turned from side to side for the waffle to brown thoroughly without getting burned. The hot waffle was cooled down on a towel. Waffles were usually served with sour cream or jam.