Jaffle Irons

A Jaffle Iron Made for Coals

The whole appeal is that it needs no power, no gas and no flat surface. You load it, close it, and bury the head in the coals for a few minutes a side.

Cast iron is what makes that work. It takes the heat of a fire without buckling, then holds enough of it to seal and toast the bread rather than steaming it. The long handles keep your hands out of the fire, which matters more than it sounds when the coals are properly hot.

Jumbo Single or Jumbo Double

Two sizes are stocked. The jumbo single makes one large jaffle at a time and is the easier one to work with over a small fire, since it takes up less of the coal bed and heats through faster.

The jumbo double makes two at once from the same handle. It is the one to have when you are feeding a group, though it wants a wider bed of coals and a bit more patience to get both sides evenly done. Most households that cook this way end up owning both. Both take standard sliced bread, so there is no hunting around for a loaf that fits.

Why a Cast Iron Jaffle Maker Beats the Kitchen Version

An electric sandwich press is a fine thing in a kitchen and useless at a campsite. A cast iron jaffle maker goes wherever the fire is, and there is no element to fail or cord to find a socket for.

The seal is different too. A camping jaffle maker crimps the edges hard enough to hold anything liquid inside - baked beans, tinned spaghetti, cheese that would otherwise run out the side. That crimp is the reason the jaffle became an Australian camping habit in the first place, and it is the one thing kitchen appliances do not replicate.

Canvas Bags for the Ash

Jaffle irons come out of a fire black. Canvas bags are stocked for the single, the double and the quad, and they exist so a sooty iron can go back in the vehicle without marking everything it touches.

They also solve storage at home. A bagged iron can live in the camping crate between trips rather than being cleaned to a shine each time, which suits a tool that is going straight back into the coals anyway. Each bag is cut for its own iron rather than being a general sack, so nothing rattles loose in the back.

Jaffle Irons, Ordered and Delivered

Both sizes and all three bags ship Australia-wide, with free shipping on orders over $100 on most items and dispatch within two to three business days.

A jaffle iron rarely travels on its own, so the rest of the fire-cooking kit is worth a look while you are here:

• Camp ovens
• Pots and pans
• Covers and storage