I’m making savory waffles based on corn and very coarse cornmeal. Of
course corn kernals and veg (like peppers) make it tricky because
batter doesn’t stick well to smooth non-porous surfaces.

The standard combination of milk, eggs, and wheat flour works well
enough as a binder, but only if added in a high enough ratio. If I cut
back on the flour, the waffles lose their mechanical integrity and
fall apart.

I’m looking for ideas for other binders. This is my speculative brainstorm:

• cheese
• honey
• bees wax
• maple syrup
• molassas
• agave?
• gluten (wheat flour, beer? (wheat beer or any beer?), glutinous rice?)
• cornstarch, wheat starch, tapioca starch
• chicken eggs (the whites thereof)
• vegan “eggs” like VegEgg powder (is that psyllium husk?)
• Aquafaba (chickpea water)
• baking soda (if fried?)
• PVA (polyvinylacetate aka wood glue)

For the gluten intolerant:

• Psyllium husk
• Agar-Agar
• Chia seeds, flax seeds
• Linseed (Flaxseed)
• Guar gum
• Xanthan gum
• Arrowroot
• Carrageenan
• Nonfat milk powder

Chicken eggs seem to be the most common additive that does the heavy lifting for binding -- used in cakes and even hamburgers not for flavor but just as an effective binder. I’m not vegan but I try to gravitate in that direction. I’ve switched to VegEgg -- a pricey powder that replaces animal eggs. I’m not sure VegEgg is as effective as animal eggs. I doubled the VegEgg dosage and it seems good enough but it would be nice to eliminate VegEgg as well just because it’s obscure and pricey compared to eggs. It’s likely a proprietary cocktail of other ingredients in bio shops. Aquafaba is perhaps what I should be considering.

Belgians separate the egg yolks from the whites and beat the whites into a foam for waffles. Is that just to get air into the batter? I don’t want fluffy airy waffles, so I guess I should skip the whipping if I use eggs.

I have no problem with gluten but gluten intolerant people need to use non-wheat flour (like coconut flour or almond flour), so they need to add something else to get the binding effect of gluten. Does anyone add the gluten-free binders to wheat flour just to amplify the binding?

Cheese has a special protein that gives it the sticky melting characteristic. There is an effort underway in the UK to synthesize that so a more convincing vegan cheese can be made (IIRC). But I don’t think we are there yet.

Beer is sometimes used in batter. I’m not sure if that’s for the bubbles, the flavor, or if the gluten in the beer helps as a binder.

Waffle recipes often include confectioner’s sugar, apparently just as a sweetener. But if I need better binding, should I use honey, syrup, or molassas instead?

Baking soda increases browning, so I wonder if the crispy exteriour helps keep things together.

I mentioned PVA for completeness. Wood glue is strangely used on the heels of some cheeses (WTF?). But I am not seriously considering putting wood glue in my waffles. It might even be toxic in its liquid state.

Was going to title this edible glues but it turns out they exist with a different meaning- as a sugar paste to stick ornaments onto decorated cakes.

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

A drone attack on Russian Stavrolen petrochemical enterprise, Nov. 12, 2025. (Exilenova+/Telegram)

Ukraine withdraws from positions near another settlement in Zaporizhzhia Oblast amid ongoing Russian offensive. Ukrainian forces withdrew from the village of Rivnopillia in northeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast late on Nov. 11, Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces reported.

Russia establishes Unmanned Systems Forces, Ukraine says it’s just ‘copying our successful approaches.’ A separate branch of Ukraine’s Armed Forces dedicated to unmanned systems was formed in 2024.

SBU exposes Russian agent from Crimea planning terrorist attacks on Kyiv metro and malls. A 55-year-old resident of Crimea, the alleged organizer of terrorist attacks, has been charged in absentia.

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UK backchannel contacts failed to develop, Kremlin says. The comments follow reporting by the Financial Times (FT) that British national security advisor Jonathan Powell tried to open a backchannel with Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov earlier this year.

Ukraine’s foreign minister meets Rubio, other G7 partners to push for defense, energy support. After talking to Rubio at the G7 meeting in Canada, Sybiha praised Trump’s “peace efforts and very effective energy sanctions against Russia.”

Ukraine’s Special Forces confirm ‘successful fire attack‘ on Russia’s Stavrolen petrochemical plant. Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces confirmed its “successful fire attack” on Stavrolen petrochemical enterprise, a Lukoil-owned petrochemical complex in Budyonnovsk, southern Russia, overnight on Nov. 12.

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During his presidential campaign, Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted two key failings of then-President Petro Poroshenko: corruption and nepotism.

Six years into his own presidency, Zelensky has found himself on the receiving end of the exact same criticism.

Photo: Celestino Arce/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Analysis: With all eyes on Pokrovsk, Russia drives forward in Zaporizhzhia Oblast

On November 11th, the same day that Russia’s wretched Mad Max–style convoy of troops was filmed entering Pokrovsk through the fog, the Ukrainian military announced its withdrawal from five villages north of the small city of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

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An investor’s guide to Ukraine

As it became clear that the war would not end any time soon, the hype around reconstruction quickly evaporated. Since then, many foreign investors have preferred to stay on the sidelines, attending conferences while waiting to come after the war ends.

But there are those who have invested and found success, undeterred by the risks and idiosyncrasies of doing business in wartime Ukraine.

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Ukraine war latest: Recent Russian assault on light equipment in direction of Pokrovsk was ‘partially successful,’ Ukraine’s military says

A large-scale assault by Russian troops in light vehicles on the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast was “partially successful,” the 7th Corps of Ukraine’s Air Assault Forces reported on Nov. 12.

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Opinions and insights

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Our fourth year was a challenging one. The

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Brazilian fighter on South American crime links to foreign volunteers in Ukraine

In other news

Zelensky to impose sanctions against close associate following large-scale corruption probe, source says. The two are implicated in the $100 million corruption scandal centered on the state-owned nuclear power company Energoatom, which has rocked the country since Monday.

Prosecutors describe influence-peddling network in Ukraine’s biggest graft case. Specifically, suspects in the Energoatom corruption case have discussed who should be appointed to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko’s Cabinet and whether Justice Minister Halushchenko should be appointed as ambassador to the U.S.

Two Ukrainian ministers implicated in major corruption scandal step down. Halushchenko is being investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) as part of a large-scale corruption case into Energoatom involving Timur Mindich, a close associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Energoatom corruption scheme suspects funded luxury houses for top officials, journalists say. Ex-Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov was financing a construction of high-end houses near Kyiv. The money he spent was obtained through the energy corruption scheme now rocking Ukraine, the Bihus.info investigative journalism project reported on Nov. 12.

Congress votes to reopen government after longest shutdown in US history.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Nov. 12 to reopen the federal government and end a 43-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, multiple outlets reported.

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