Why? Today in 1869 Cornelius Swartout, then working in Troy, patented the waffle iron. Swartout came from an old Dutch family that settled in the New Netherlands in the mid 1600s. It appears they first came to New Amsterdam, and then wended their way up the Hudson to Kingston. By the 1700s we find most of Cornelius’ family living in the Hilltowns of Westerlo and Berne. By the 1800s many, including Cornelius and some of his siblings, become Flatlanders and make their way to Albany.
We can thank the Dutch for Waffles. They were probably invented in the 1400s. They were so yummy there is evidence that they had already been adopted by the English and references appear in the early days of Plymouth colony in Massachusetts. But they are a Dutch thing. Wafel (sic) irons are among the staples you find in inventories of New Netherland households in the 1600s. They continue to appear regularly in store ads in newspapers in Albany well into the 1800s.
Making waffles is labor intensive, so they were treats. But they always made appearances on St. Nicholas Day and other holidays as integral part of those feasts. They were so special that by 1744 there is a surviving letter from a young woman in which she describes her attendance at a “Waffle Frolic”!
No self-respecting Dutch housewife was without a “Wafle” recipe. We’ve included 2 from about 1800. The first is from the Lefferts family, Dutch settlers in Flatbush around the 1680s. The other is from Alida Bogert, who was born in the mid-1700s in Albany and lived on N Pearl, probably near Maiden Lane with her husband Barent and her many children.
So.. the Dutch gave us not only donuts and cookies, but waffles as well! AWESOME!!!
Another thing Albany needs to add to its event list – the Annual Albany Frolic
Copyright 2021 Julie O’Connor
Friends of Albany History 