How to Survive a World Without Waffles

(Nov. 19) -- Kellogg's announcement this week of a nationwide shortage of Eggo frozen waffles has prompted consumers to stock up, the blogosphere to sniff for conspiracies and would-be profiteers to hawk boxes on eBay at inflated prices.

The news spread first on Twitter, and Kellogg responded with a public statement blaming the shortage -- which the company expects to last until the summer -- on plant shutdowns at two of its four manufacturing facilities. Specifically, flooding at its Atlanta plant and repair work at another one in Rossville, Tenn., was cited.

"We are working around the clock," Kellogg spokesman Chris Charles says, "to restore Eggo store inventories to normal levels as quickly as possible."


But one company's crisis is another's opportunity, and it will be interesting to see if Kellogg's competitors -- Quaker Oats' Aunt Jemima brand, De Wafelbakkers Janssen & Meyer Holland Waffles and various store-brand offerings -- will be able to take advantage of Kellogg's stumble. Currently, Eggo waffles hold a 73 percent share of the country's frozen waffle market. (More than half of Americans consume some sort of frozen breakfast product.)

Others speculate that the "crisis" could even prompt Americans to do the unthinkable -- make fresh, tasty and healthy waffles themselves. This is precisely what Americans did prior to the 1950s, when three California brothers introduced the Eggo frozen waffle. (Kellogg bought the company in the early 1970s.)

"It's not that hard to make fresh waffles," says Christophe Jadot, the owner of Petite Abeille, a mini-chain of Belgian restaurants in New York City. "All you need is flour, milk, eggs, sugar and a waffle maker," which can be bought for as little as $20. And while Jadot, a native of Belgium, says he's never eaten a frozen waffle or -- God forbid! -- served one at his restaurants, he allows that consumers could make batches of waffles over the weekend, freeze them and then reheat them for the workday mornings. Epicurious.com offers a simple batter recipe here, and frozen waffles, properly sealed, should keep in the freezer for several months -- just make sure to monitor occasionally for freezer burn.

For centuries humans did quite well without the Eggo. Waffles were introduced by the ancient Greeks, who called them obleios. Waffle presses appeared in Holland and Germany in the 1300s and came to America with the Pilgrims in 1620. Later, Thomas Jefferson brought one back from France.

But it wasn't until Aug. 24, 1869, that Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, N.Y., received the first U.S. patent for a "device to bake waffles." The day is now commemorated as National Waffle Day, and next summer will mark the 141th anniversary of the historic occasion.

By then, according to Kellogg, Eggo frozen waffle production should be back in full swing. But what a pity it would be to mark the occasion with a microwave.