If you love pancakes or waffles, you’re not alone. If you’re making them at home, you might wonder how to store any leftover batter. The best ways are to refrigerate or freeze it, but you have to keep the batter in some type of airtight container in the meantime.
How Do You Like Your Waffles?
For the most part, waffles are easy to make because you can buy the batter mix in the store, add some water and sometimes a few other ingredients, and put it in your waffle maker. Waffles are a popular food not only because they are light, fluffy, and delicious but also because you can add fruit, chocolate sauce, peanut butter, powdered sugar, or numerous other items to dress them up and make them taste even better. If you decide to make your own batter from scratch, you’ll also get delicious waffles in the end, and the same recommendations listed below will still apply.
When you make your waffle batter, it’s often difficult to tell exactly how many waffles it will make, and no one wants to throw out any leftover batter they might have. Furthermore, a lot of batter “recipes” call for more than one perishable ingredient, which means if you do want to save the batter for use at another time, you can’t exactly set it on top of your countertop and leave it alone. Instead, you’ll want to wrap it and store it in the fridge or maybe even the freezer, and below are a handful of things to keep in mind when making your decision.
Tip #1: Store Your Batter Correctly
After you’re done making your waffles, you’ll need to store leftover batter immediately, but there are “deadlines,” so to speak, because the batter can’t just sit around forever. If you cover it with plastic wrap and put it into the fridge, it can remain there for two days. If you put it in an airtight container instead, it can last up to five days. If you take it out of the refrigerator after two to five days and there’s anything that seems “off” about it, it’s best not to take any chances but to throw it out at that point.
The reason you cannot let waffle batter sit out or stay in the fridge for too long is because of certain ingredients, most notably eggs or egg whites. Any item with foods that are perishable in it has to be stored right away and stored properly. Otherwise, it can spoil and can possibly make you sick if you decide to consume it. In addition, it’s the eggs in the recipe that are the most perishable, which is something to keep in mind before deciding how to store your batter.
Tip #2: Freezing the Batter
If you already know you’re not going to be making any more waffles in the near future, you can always freeze the leftover batter. If you choose this option, you can store it in your freezer for up to a month, but it has to be kept in containers that are airtight. These include glass jars with tight lids, plastic containers with airtight seals, or even resealable bags, preferably those that change colors once the bag is as tight as possible. The point here is clear—you cannot freeze the batter unless the container you’re using is airtight!
People often wonder if they can refreeze frozen waffle batter, and the answer is “yes, you can.” When you first take it out of the freezer, it must be thawed before placing it in the waffle iron. Afterward, you can freeze the leftover batter just like you did the first time, and it will last for another month. To thaw out the batter, you can either leave the container in the refrigerator overnight or place the container in either hot or cold water until it’s thawed, which usually takes about 15 minutes for every pound of batter you have.
One more important tip if you refreeze your batter—only do this if you didn’t leave the batter out on your countertop for very long. If it was out at room temperature for several hours, bacteria may have formed, and in this instance, the batter should not be refrozen but should be discarded. If there is any doubt as to what you should do, it’s best to err on the side of caution and throw out your batter so it doesn’t make you sick.
After It’s Thawed and Before You Cook
If you leave your waffle batter in the fridge or in the freezer, you should always whisk or stir it well before you make your next batch of waffles. Why? Because when stored or frozen, the ingredients in your waffle batter will separate, and it just makes the waffles taste better once the ingredients are stirred together before you make them. You should also know that the batter does not have to be warm or even room temperature before you put it in your waffle maker. Cold batter will still make yummy waffles.
Making nice fluffy waffles isn’t difficult, but if you want more of those yummy waffles in the future, you can put the batter in an airtight container and either refrigerate it for two to five days or freeze it for about a month. You can also refreeze your thawed batter, but only if it hasn’t been left out at room temperature for too long. To be sure, tasty waffles are easy to make and store, but you have to be careful and follow a few simple rules, including throwing the batter out if there’s any question about its condition.