Waffles might just be the most delicious food that people eat for breakfast semi-regularly. You might not have them every single day for breakfast, but it’s definitely a treat whenever you do.
Many people choose to make quite a few waffles when they’re making them homemade. You might want to have more than you need to ensure that everyone in the family is able to eat their fill.
Of course, this could mean that you’ll wind up having some left over because everyone got full. You don’t want to waste the scrumptious waffles, and this means that you’re going to need to store them.
Can you store waffles effectively enough to make it worthwhile? Is there a good way to go about storing them so that they will last long enough for you to eat them?
Read on to learn more. This will help you to store them for as long as you can so that they won’t have to be thrown away before you get a chance to eat them.
Waffles Don’t Last Long
You need to know that waffles aren’t a type of food that you can store for long periods of time. If you’re hoping to store them for a week, then you’re going to be very disappointed.
When you store waffles, it’s only going to be possible to keep them good for a few days. After a couple of days have passed, they aren’t going to be worth eating any longer.
Foods such as this simply aren’t meant to be stored for long periods of time. If you want to have waffles that will last a longer period of time, then frozen waffles are available at just about any grocery store.
If you store homemade waffles the right way, then they’ll stay good for a few days. This means that you could eat your leftovers for breakfast the next morning or at least within two days of storing them.
This will only be possible if you store them properly, though. Below, you’ll be able to learn exactly how to store them to get the best results.
Refrigerate the Waffles
As you might expect, it’s going to be necessary to refrigerate the waffles to get them to stay good for as long as possible. Ideally, you should try to refrigerate your homemade waffles within two hours of making them.
This should give you more than enough time to have breakfast and see how many you’re going to have left after everyone gets full. You want to wait until the waffles have cooled down before refrigerating them anyway so it’s actually a good thing to avoid refrigerating them right away.
When your waffles are cool enough, you’re just going to need to find some type of container to put them in. It’s probably going to be best to use an airtight container that’s meant for storing food.
Most people will choose to use some type of plastic food storage container that has a lid. Place your waffles inside the container and then put them in the fridge.
There are some other things to know about storing waffles that you should learn before moving forward. If you waited longer than two hours to refrigerate them, then you’ll likely have to throw them out.
Bacteria starts to form and spread on food, and it’s going to be a risk to keep them if you allow the waffles to sit out for longer than two hours. It’s also true that if the temperature is hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit, you won’t have as much time.
You’ll need to refrigerate them within one hour if it’s really hot. Try to remember this when you make them during the summer months.
This might not matter all that much if you’re living in a temperature-controlled environment, but it’s still good to know. If it’s really hot in your home, then you’ll need to refrigerate the waffles within an hour of making them.
Using Resealable Plastic Bags Works Nicely
If you don’t have airtight plastic food storage containers that you can utilize, then you might be wondering what to do. It’s actually going to be good to use standard resealable plastic bags to store your waffles.
These plastic bags will work nicely and you’ll be able to fit quite a few of them inside of them. You might have several of these bags in your kitchen already since people often use them to store leftover foods.
The important thing is to keep the bag sealed and place it in a safe spot in the refrigerator. Your waffles should do well when you’re using high-quality resealable plastic bags.
Just don’t try to stuff too many in the plastic bag that you’re using. If you go overboard, then you might have trouble sealing the bag or getting it to stay shut.
It’d be better to use two bags if you have many waffles that you need to store. So long as you keep this in mind, it’ll be possible to get good results when using these bags.
Try to Use the Waffles Within Three Days
You need to try to eat the waffles that you’re storing within three days. The longer you refrigerate them, the more they’re going to deteriorate.
Eventually, they will become hard and they’ll also lose a lot of their taste. Trying to eat them after they’ve been in the refrigerator for four or five days wouldn’t be a pleasant experience.
You might want to ensure that you just eat the leftover waffles for breakfast the next day. This will ensure that you use them up without waiting too long.
This isn’t a food that’s going to last for a long time in the refrigerator. If you’re looking for long-term storage, then you’ll have to use your freezer.
Freezing Homemade Waffles
It is indeed possible to freeze your homemade waffles and get them to stay good for longer. You just need to be careful not to store them in the freezer before they’ve cooled down.
Waffles will be a bit moist when they’re still hot, and the heat that they give off will create more moisture when placed in a freezer. This moisture is going to make them spoil faster than usual.
So long as you wait until the waffles have dried, it’s going to be easy to store them in a freezer. You just need to place them in an airtight container that’s safe to use in the freezer.
Your waffles should be able to stay good for up to three months in the freezer. This is assuming that they’re in an airtight container and that they aren’t being exposed to moisture.
If you wait to eat them for too long, then they will lose taste after three months. They do indeed last longer in the freezer, but this still isn’t a food that will stay good for really long periods of time.
One good thing about freezing homemade waffles is that they will function very similarly to store-bought frozen waffles. You won’t need to let them thaw before you decide to reheat them.
It’s possible to place them in a toaster oven and enjoy them very fast. You can take them out of the freezer whenever you feel like having some, assuming that they’ve been in storage for less than three months.
If you don’t use the waffles by the time the three months are up, then it’s probably going to be best to throw them out. Three months is more than enough time to finish an average batch of homemade waffles, though.
Final Thoughts
Knowing how to store your waffles the right way will ensure that you’re able to get the most out of them. It would be a shame to allow your homemade waffles to go to waste.
If you made more waffles than you and your family could eat in one sitting, then you’ll be able to refrigerate them. All you need to do is place them in a plastic food storage container with an airtight lid or a resealable plastic bag of some sort.
You have to store them within two hours of making them so that you won’t have to worry about harmful bacteria. It is necessary to wait until they have cooled down before storing them in the fridge, though.
In some cases, you’ll need to store the waffles within one hour if the temperature happens to be more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit in your house. These same rules apply if you choose to freeze them as well.
Waffles will stay good for two or three days when stored in a refrigerator under optimal conditions. You can expect them to stay good for up to three months in your freezer.
It’s usually best to make an effort to eat the waffles in a timely fashion. Consider writing the date that you stored them on the container that you’re using.
This will ensure that you don’t forget how old they are. It wouldn’t be fun to bite into one that’s hard and flavorless.
Use this information to store your waffles properly moving forward. You’ll be able to keep enjoying this amazing breakfast food and you won’t have to worry so much if you happen to have leftovers.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.
cindy
Tuesday 28th of March 2023
if i make waffals saturday nite can i warm them sunday in oven