DASH MultiMaker Flex Press Grill and Waffle, Graphite

What the maker puts in writing

• “Plates for Everyday Cooking: The Dash MultiMaker Flex Press Grill System lets you swap between grill and waffle maker in one compact appliance”
• “Nonstick Plates for Easy Cleanup: Our easy-clean, nonstick Removable Plates release food easily and are dishwasher safe for quick and simple cleanup”
• “Flex It, Press It, Grill It: The 180° Hinged Lid design lies flat for indoor flat top grilling or pulls down to press paninis and sandwiches”
• “Compact Design for Any Kitchen: This space-saving appliance fits neatly on countertops and offers a convenient indoor cooking solution with no stove needed”
• “Happiness Is Homemade: Dash products invite families to gather together for the joy of cooking and eating at home”
• Reference DIG014GBGT04 · Catalog: 2,268 g (80 oz), 251 × 277 × 90 mm (9.88 × 10.9 × 3.54 in)

The same machine as the Forged Iron, with different plates in the box

Both catalog identically — 2,268 g, 251 × 277 × 90 mm — and the references differ by two digits.

this, Graphite, DIG014GBGT04, $49.74 — grill and waffle: “swap between grill and waffle maker”. No griddle is mentioned anywhere. Forged Iron, DIG024GBGY04, $34.99 — two Grill Plates and two Griddle Plates, with “Compatible Waffle Plates are sold separately”

And those waffle plates are on this shelf at $13.49.

So:

Forged Iron $34.99 + waffle pack $13.49 = $48.48, for three plate sets — grill, griddle, waffle this — $49.74 for two — grill and waffle

The three-set route is a dollar twenty-six cheaper, and it is the only arithmetic on this shelf.

What a griddle plate is, since this version does not have one. A griddle is flat; a grill is ribbed. Ribbed gives sear marks and lets fat drain away from the meat. Flat gives full contact, which pancakes, eggs, onions and anything small need so they do not fall between the ridges — and the Forged Iron page sells exactly that: “flip to the Griddle for pancakes, eggs, and bacon.”

So this is the version for someone who wants waffles and paninis and has decided they will never want a flat plate.

Which is defensible, for two reasons. The 180-degree hinge already gives a flat-top grill — ribbed, but flat, and twice the area. And two sets of plates is two fewer loose plates in a cupboard, which matters because nothing on this shelf stores spare plates except the GreenPan at $299.95: “SIMPLE STORAGE: Belgian and Classic Waffle Plates store in the bottom of the unit.”

One hundred and eighty degrees, which doubles the surface

“The 180° Hinged Lid design lies flat for indoor flat top grilling or pulls down to press paninis and sandwiches”

The Forged Iron page publishes the figure for both versions: an “8 x 5-inch Cooking Surface” — 40 square inches of contact — “pressing two sandwiches at a time”.

Laid flat you get both plates side by side as one surface: 80 square inches, heated from below.

And a press and a flat top cook different things. A press works from both sides at once and compresses — right for a panini, a toasted sandwich, a quesadilla, a cheesesteak. A flat top works from one side and you turn the food — right for burgers, bacon, anything with a top you want to keep. You cannot press an egg.

The shelf divides sharply:

Both Dash Flex Press machines open flat — this, and the Forged Iron at $34.99: “opens a full 180 degrees to lie flat, creating an indoor grill on your countertop” The BLACK+DECKER at $48.99 — seventy-five cents less than this — explicitly forbids it: “Always operate the unit in the closed position on a stable, level, heat-resistant surface” The OSTBA at $29.99, the Aigostar at $39.99 and the Metine at $49.99 say nothing, and all three are closed presses by description The GreenPan at $299.95 is a waffle maker only

So at least two of the fourteen items on this shelf give a flat top, and both are this machine.

One caution neither Dash page gives. Laid flat, fat has nowhere to drain. A ribbed plate closed sheds fat into its channels; the same plate flat pools it — and the Forged Iron page publishes a drip tray while this one never mentions it at all.

On surface, eight by five is the second largest published here. The Metine at $49.99 gives 10.8 × 5.5 inches per plate — about 59 square inches, half again as much. The Dash Mini plate pack at $9.99 is 4 inches. The GreenPan says “4-Square” with no dimension. At least seven of the fourteen items on this shelf publish no surface at all — including, strictly, this page, which leaves it to its sibling.

Grill and waffle, and nothing about the waffle

The page names the waffle function twice and specifies it nowhere.

No waffle thickness, no count, no pattern. Two items on this shelf publish both figures, in the same terms: the Cuisinart GR-WAFP at $56.26 and the GVODE at $38.99 — “4 deep pocketed, 3/4-inch thick Belgian waffles”. Three quarters of an inch is the only waffle thickness published anywhere here.

The separate Dash waffle pack at $13.49 — the plates that come in this machine’s box — says “thick, fluffy waffles” and no more.

And the GreenPan at $299.95 is the only item here to treat the distinction as real, shipping two sets: “Perfect classic American-style waffles and thicker Belgian waffles.”

Why it matters. A Belgian waffle is deep-pocketed and about three quarters of an inch thick, from a batter with more leavening — a crisp shell over a light, nearly hollow inside. A classic American waffle is shallower and denser, with a finer grid. They want different batters, and pouring a dense American batter into a deep pocket gives a heavy slab.

“Thick, fluffy” places the Dash plates at the Belgian end without committing to anything.

And there is no moat, which is the characteristic failure of a waffle plate and which two items here solve:

Breville, $64.95 — “the no-mess moat design feature prevents excess waffle batter spilling out and onto your counter top” GreenPan, $299.95 — “EXTRA-LARGE MOAT: to prevent batter from leaking, the large moat frames the plates on all sides”

The OSTBA at $29.99 names the consequence instead: “Avoid overfilling the sandwich press to prevent latch damage.”

That warning belongs on this page. Waffle batter expands as it cooks — the steam that lightens it also pushes it outward — so a plate filled to the pattern overflows when the lid closes, and batter forced into a hinge sets hard. On a machine whose whole selling point is a 180-degree hinge, that is the part to protect.

No item on this shelf publishes a batter quantity. Underfill the first one deliberately and use it as the measure.

Dishwasher safe, and nothing about looking after the coating

“Our easy-clean, nonstick Removable Plates release food easily and are dishwasher safe for quick and simple cleanup”

at least twelve of the fourteen items on this shelf claim dishwasher safety, and two qualify it.

GVODE, $38.99 — “Most of time, recommend hand wash with soap to protect the non-stick for long term use” BLACK+DECKER, $48.99 — the only care warning here: “Avoid metal utensils, abrasive cleaners, and aerosol cooking sprays to help protect the coating”

Both apply to these plates as much as to theirs.

The aerosol point is the one nobody but BLACK+DECKER makes, and it is the commonest way a non-stick plate is ruined. A spray can carries a propellant and usually lecithin, and on a hot non-stick surface the lecithin polymerizes into a hard brown-gold varnish bonded to the coating. It is not grease and it does not wash off — and on a waffle pattern it builds in the pockets where nothing reaches. Brush a little melted butter instead.

The metal-utensil point bites on a press. A sandwich that catches gets a knife to it; a waffle that sticks gets a fork — and one cut in a non-stick film propagates from that point for the rest of the plate’s life.

No coating chemistry is published here. Three items on this shelf name one: GVODE — “double-layer TEflon”, “BPA free” · Aigostar — “teflon” · GreenPan — “Thermolon Volt, a diamond-infused ceramic… free of PFAS, PFOA, lead or cadmium”, the only non-fluoropolymer plate here.

And no plate material. Two items name one: the GVODE’s “food grade aluminum” and the GreenPan’s “CAST PLATES… optimal heat conduction”. Mass is what keeps a plate hot when cold batter lands on it — which is why a second waffle off a light plate comes out paler — and the Dash waffle pack weighs 499 g for the pair, against 980 g for the GVODE and 1,619 g for the Breville.

One habit no page on this shelf gives: let the plates cool before pulling them out. Thermal shock from a hot plate into cold water is what crazes a coating.

What is not published

No wattage. Three of the seven machines sold on Amazon.com publish one: 1200 W on the Metine at $49.99, 750 W on the OSTBA at $29.99 and on the Aigostar at $39.99, which also gives 120 V. Power governs how fast the plates recover after the lid opens, which is what decides whether the second waffle takes as long as the first.

No indicator light. The BLACK+DECKER at $48.99 publishes the best description on this shelf: a green ready light that “cycles on and off with the thermostat during use”, with “Wait for the green light before adding food”. The Aigostar at $39.99 publishes two lights — red power, green preheat. The Metine at $49.99 publishes a light and the warning about it: “we bake our waffles by time, not by the indicator light… Always follow the timer.”

No browning control. Only two of the seven machines sold on Amazon.com have one: the Metine’s five levels (“1–2 for gentle warming, 3–5 for toasting and searing”) and the GreenPan’s “ADJUSTABLE SHADE & CRUNCH CONTROL” with an XL LCD and a one-touch dial.

No switch statement, where the Forged Iron publishes the sibling fact: “No on/off switch to fuss with; plug in and the… Cooking Surface heats up fast.” If the two machines are the same hardware, this one has no switch either — which means the only way to turn it off is to unplug it, and the page never says so.

No cooking surface on this page, as above.

No drip tray, where the Forged Iron publishes one.

No locking-closed claim, where the Forged Iron publishes “this small Grill locks closed to store away”, and the OSTBA, the Aigostar and the Metine all publish an upright-storage claim.

No capacity, where the Forged Iron publishes “pressing two sandwiches at a time”.

No cool-touch handle, where three machines here publish one — and the OSTBA is the only page on this shelf to say the body gets hot at all: “The outer surface gets hot during use—handle with care.”

No waffle specification, as above.

No moat and no batter quantity, as above.

No warranty, which no item on this shelf publishes.

No country of manufacture, which no item on this shelf publishes either.

Availability

Read on the day this page was built: $49 at the American Amazon shop.

Read from Keepa on the day this page was last revised; stock and price both move without notice.