No matter how you like to customize your waffles, you likely want a light, fluffy interior with a brown and crunchy exterior. Many people cook their homemade waffle batter using melted butter, and while butter may add fat, richness, and depth of flavor to your waffles, it isn’t always the best choice for the crust.

Butter has a relatively high water content, and vegetable oil or rapeseed oil actually give your waffles a better crisp crust due to their lower water contents, allowing the batter to brown more easily and evenly. Additionally, butter is more prone to burning, since it has a lower smoke point and contains milk solids.

While rapeseed or vegetable oil won’t give waffles the rich, milky flavor of butter, they do result in the best texture. If you still want to sneak some butter into your waffles, just add the butter after the waffles come together in the waffle iron, which will provide them with a buttery taste without compromising the crust.