The waffle's origins can be traced all the way back to Ancient Greece. The Greeks would heat dough between two red-hot plates to make a treat called oblieos. However, these sweet cakes lacked the grid designs that today's waffles have.
During the Middle Ages, wafers known as oublies were sold outside community churches. Wafer presses often created intricate, religious designs in the cracker. No one knows who created the grid pattern, but some legends claim that it was created by a knight who accidently sat on an oatcake. His armor created an idented grid pattern. However, a blacksmith proabbly was the true creator.
After the medieval ages, the waffle spread through Europe. In 1620, the Pilgrims bring "wafels" with them across the ocean after stopping in Holland. Fun Fact: The word Dutch word "wafle" means "honeycomb". Americans continued to make waffles by hand until, in 1789, Thomas Jefferson returned to America from France with the first waffle iron - a device that enclosed batter in hot plates that gave the batter new crispness and shape. Waffles finally began to take hold in American culture. In the north, Canadian maple syrup was used to add sweet flavor to the waffles because sugar was extremely expensive. In the south, waffles were eaten with savory foods such as kidney stew, which eventually evolved into chicken and waffles.
In 1869, the first patent for a waffle iron is made by Cornelius Swarthout. This also marks the anniversary of National Waffle Day, which is August 24th. In 1911, the first commercially available electric waffle iron is created by Thomas Stackbeck. By 1930, every American kitchen has one.
In 1964, Belgian waffles debuted at the World's Fair in Queens. Maurice Vermersch was demonstrating his wife's recipe for Brussels waffles, but he changes the name to Belgian waffles in order to make it more appealing. This led to the common misconception that waffles were from Belgium. Vermersch's recipe was so appealing that it became a common staple of American household, and is still consumed by many today.
Waffles aren't only in Belgian form, however. In 1953, a new waffle becomes popular: the eggo waffle. Originally known as "froffles" (frozen waffles), they became known as eggos due to their eggy taste. Eggos became popular due to their easy and quick nature: 5 minutes or less in the toaster oven and you have a breakfast. Other waffle variations include the stroopwafel - a hard crusty waffle sanwich filled with caramel. It is usually served with a dipping sauce like chocolate or with drinks like tea in order to soften the waffle.