When it comes to cooking your favorite pasta dishes at home, owning a pasta maker can definitely come in handy.
Even though you can still make pasta the old fashioned way, by slicing the dough thinly with a knife, pasta maker appliances will make the process much easier, quicker, and much more simple.
Pasta makers can make a pound of fresh pasta in as little as fifteen minutes! Also, maintenance and cleaning are easy peasy! For thorough cleaning, you can disassemble every component after use, and some models are even dishwasher safe.
Needless to say, a pasta maker is super efficient to use.
Top 5 Pasta Makers
The following are detailed reviews of the best electric pasta machines as well as a couple manual pasta makers for you to consider buying.
1. Philips Pasta Maker Review
This pasta maker features advanced engineering and long-lasting, robust material. It can exert approximately 1600 pounds of force on the dough, enabling you to make fresh and flavorful pasta in as little as 15 minutes.
As the mixing, extruding, and kneading of this pasta maker are automatic, the pasta has perfect taste and texture; it’s as easy as selecting a program and pushing a button - the machine does all the rest.
With it’s unique shaping discs, you can make either penne, spaghetti, lasagna, or fettuccine pasta (sadly no macaroni). Want even more (different) types of noodles? No problem - you can get more pasta shakes (shaping discs) as an additional accessory.
You can also make various flavors of pasta with this machine by adding different flour and different ingredients such as eggs, spinach, herbs, or carrot juice.
Are you new to making pasta? Fret not, the Philips Pasta Maker comes with a free recipe book that provides ingredients for twenty-four different types of pasta, as well as recipes for more than twenty different noodle dishes.
Cleaning this machine is a breeze. It features specially designed cleaning tools that match each shaping disc. At the bottom of the machine, there is even a handy little storage drawer where the cleaning tools and shaping discs can be easily stored.
2. Imperia Pasta Maker Machine (150) By Cucina Pro Review
The quality of this pasta maker is great: it is well built, long lasting, and makes delicious pasta that you and your family will love.
One of it’s finest features is that you can interchange the cutters in order to make different types of pastas. However, it comes with only one cutter, so you will need to purchase any extra cutter attachments separately.
The pasta that you will create with this machine is unlike any other: it will have perfect thickness, perfect consistency, and a heavenly taste. It has a roller that is 6 inches wide with a double clutter head to allow you to make thin spaghetti as well as wide fettuccini noodles.
Imperia Pasta Maker also comes with a recipe for pasta dough (written in several languages). With it, you can easily stun your family or guests with amazing culinary experiences that they will live to remember.
Cleaning this machine won’t be a problem at all- in fact, you may never need to wash it. Yes, that’s right; you can simply buy a pastry brush and brush the flour off the rollers once you are done using it. As long as you use the correct amount of flour while turning, the pasta won’t stick to anything.
Other notable features include: the easy-lock adjustment dial, the wood grip handle (on the hand crank) that cranks out the dough effortlessly, and additional attachments that you can use for various noodle shapes.
3. Pasta Maker Deluxe Set By Cucina Pro Review
This is an excellent pasta maker that you will fall in love with immediately. You can use it to make spaghetti, angel hair, fettuccini, lasagnette and ravioli!
It is made of a sexy chrome coated steel making it both very durable and easy to clean. It doesn’t need any baths because the pasta doesn’t leave any residue. Even though it comes with a cleaning brush, chances are that you will not be using it very much. What’s more to love?
This machine has a total of seven settings to choose from, and the main body is designed to flatten dough to the thickness that you desire. For the best results, you can begin with the thickest and then work the pasta down to the level of thinness that you desire. As well, all the attachments that you need are already included.
This unit is solidly built, looks great out of the box, and is most definitely a great value for your money.
4. OxGord Stainless Steel Fresh Pasta Maker Review
This machine makes making fresh pasta in your kitchen as easy as 1, 2, 3. With it, you can make all the best, from fresh linguine, to spaghetti, to alfredo, and many more!
It will serve you for many years to come because it features durable stainless steel construction, with both the rollers and blades also being made of stainless steel. It is also dishwasher safe, so cleaning will be a breeze.
For predictably perfect dough, this OxGord pasta maker is equipped with an easy-click adjustable dial that allows you to choose from nine different settings of thickness. It also features three detachable blades to create different types of pasta noodles with absolute ease.
Other features worth mentioning are pre-cut holes that enable you to mount the machine to kitchen islands or countertops, and the removable “easy crank” handle for storage convenience.
5. HuiJia Wellness 150 Pasta Maker Machine Review
For it’s value, this pasta maker would be quite difficult to regret buying. It is built of sturdy stainless steel and aluminum, making it very durable, rust-proof, and forever beautiful.
The HuiJia Wellness 150 Pasta Maker has a handy design and already comes with all the attachments that you need, including the built-in pasta roller, different shaped cutters, and the handled hand-crank and clamp - everything you need to make the perfect pasta at home is already included.
Another great thing about manual machines like this one is that it allows room for creativity as you can make the dough whichever thickness you desire simply by adjusting the 9 position dial on the dough roller. As well, this machine allows you to make two different shapes of pasta; either linguine pasta or fresh tagliatelle.
You will not feel any strain in your hands when using this machine, because the rollers of this machine spin freely without any tightness or stickiness.
To top it all off, cleaning it after use is easy- you don’t even need water!
Why buy a pasta maker?
Every penny counts nowadays. You would never want to spend money (no matter the amount) on something that doesn’t provide you any advantages, now would you? Of course not, that is madness! For that, we will share with you some advantages of buying a pasta maker, ensuring that you don’t find yourself in that maddening predicament.
Tastier pasta
Haven’t you heard? Fresh, homemade pasta is just unbeatable. It is simply unfair to even compare it to dried, store-bought pasta- whether you are measuring the texture or the taste, it will always fall short (sorry, dried, store-bought pasta).
Convenience
Making fresh pasta is no joke, and hardly any of us posses the capacity of patience it takes to hand roll and cut the dough every time we are feeling in the mood for a pasta dish. Aside from the time and the mess, hand rolling pasta also requires a bit of muscle and can be quite tiring.
. . . That’s where a pasta maker comes in and benefits us all. Sure, it requires a small amount of cranking, but it is definitely much more convenient than hurling yourself over a rolling pin. Also, the clean up is easy and it takes up much less counter space!
Versatile
A big problem with making your own pasta without a pasta maker is the limitation of types of pasta you can make. Just given the fact that, with a pasta maker, you can easily adjust the thickness of the pasta, (not to mention installing different cutters) you can quite easily conclude that they give you a much larger array of creative flexibility.
Consistency
Another problem with hand making your own pasta is the inconsistency of size, shape, and thickness of the pasta. As much as I don’t like to admit it, machines prevail when they are up against the potentiality of human error.
Aesthetics aside, having inconsistent pasta means the cooking will be inconsistent, and that can easily ruin an entire dish. Have you ever been eating a pasta dish and all the sudden feel a crunch? Not good.
Since the thickness of the pasta is easily adjustable when you are using a pasta maker, all you have to do is remember the setting you use and voila- consistent thickness of pasta every single time!
Healthier
As you know, fresh is almost always healthier. The same goes for your favorite pasta.
Some ingredients that are used to dry pasta are not very good for your health. Wouldn’t you rather not subject your body to such abuse if you didn’t have to? It is very easy to make fresh pasta whenever you want with the use of a pasta maker.
Plus, unlike store-bought pastas, you actually know for sure what ingredients are going into it, and you can even add your own healthy little twists, like spinach.
How to Choose the Best Pasta Maker
Not all pasta makers are created equal; what may be just right for you may not work so well for me. For example, perhaps I live in a studio apartments and I don't have much room for a larger kitchen appliance, and you have many children and care much more about hardiness.
So, since there isn’t one pasta maker that is perfect for everyone, there is a list below providing several different features and aspects you will need to look out for based on personal preference.
Material used
Since a pasta maker is used to make something you will put in your body (the pasta), the material the machine is made of (especially the pasta press) is very important. This is something you should never compromise on; not just for you, but for everyone that will be eating the pasta you make.
As well, the material used to make the machine is equivalent to it’s lifespan.
The workability of the machine is also affected by the material it is made of. Will it be strong enough to make the pasta into the thickness you want? For that, it is important to look for a model that is made with stainless steel and metal parts (through and through; 100% metal parts); which will ensure that, if taken care of, the pasta maker will stand the test of time.
Power source
One of the biggest decisions you will need to make when choosing a pasta maker is to decide which power source would work best for you. Your choice will primarily depend on: how you intend to operate the pasta maker, where you will put it in your kitchen, how much pasta you will be making, and how often you will be using it.
For example, if you are a pasta-making queen/king/chef, you may opt for the electric pasta maker, and if you will only be using it seldomly or regularly, manual pasta machines would might be your best bet.
Thickness settings
The material used will dictate how strong the machine will be. However, if it’s strong but does not have several different thickness settings, it’s strength would be wasted!
Be sure to look out for thickness setting that suit your preferences. For example, if you like to get creative and test out many different types of pastas (or pasta shapes for that matter), try finding one with at least 5 different thickness settings.
Ease in turning
You are going to want to buy a pasta maker that you will be comfortable using. After all, the primary reason most people buy a pasta maker is to avoid the physical strenuousness of having to roll out all the dough. Therefore, buying a maker that requires a lot of work to crank or turn may just end up being a waste of money.
If you can try out the pasta maker before buying it, ask for a demonstration. Look for something that will require a bit of force when turning (so you know that it’s really doing it’s job in squeezing the heck out of the pasta dough and turning it into thinner sheets of pasta) but not so much force that it causes your arms to cramp!
Accessories and Customization Options
Before you buy a pasta maker, you need to consider the availability of additional attachments and customization options. If you are going to want to be experimenting a lot with different variations of pasta, you may wish to purchase one with the attachment capabilities and the type of attachments you may want available.
Apart from attachments that work directly with the pasta maker, there are others that function as completely separate devices that you may find useful when putting finishing touches on the dough.
Conclusion
A pasta maker is a necessary tool if you want to enjoy homemade pasta with ease, as it will make the process as simple as possible. If you choose any pasta maker from the above-mentioned choices, you will not be disappointed.
People that have already given them a try have raving reviews about them. These pasta makers will guarantee not only scrumptious dishes, but also productive and fulfilling time spent in your kitchen.
Commonly Asked Questions
With a pasta maker, you can make a pound of fresh pasta in as little as fifteen minutes.
The Philips Pasta Maker and Imperia Pasta Maker are among the top choices. The Philips model is fully automatic and great for quick, versatile pasta making, while the Imperia is a high-quality manual option that produces traditional, fresh pasta.
Yes, most pasta makers come with different shaping discs (usually a cutter attachment set), or interchangeable cutters that allow you to make various types of pasta, such as penne, spaghetti, lasagna, or fettuccine. If you're looking for inspirations, check out the pasta recipes on this blog.
Some of the appliances come with pasta recipe books that provide ingredients for different types of pasta and noodle dishes. It can be a helpful resource, especially for those new to making pasta.
The Imperia Pasta Maker and HuiJia Wellness 150 are excellent manual options, known for their durability, ease of use, and the ability to make consistent, high-quality pasta.
Italians often use manual machines like the Imperia or Marcato pasta makers, known for their high-quality build and ability to produce authentic pasta.
Yes, most pasta makers have adjustable dials or settings that allow you to control the thickness of the pasta sheets before you push them through the pasta cutter side. This ensures consistent results and allows for versatility in pasta dishes.
Shows like MasterChef often feature high-end manual machines like the Imperia or electric models from Philips, allowing contestants to create professional-quality pasta.
Popular pasta machines include the Philips Pasta Maker, Imperia, Marcato Atlas, OxGord Stainless Steel Pasta Maker, and HuiJia Wellness 150.
Italy is renowned for its pasta-making tradition, with regions like Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany being particularly famous for their high-quality, fresh pasta.
A person who makes pasta is called a pastaio (Italian) or pasta maker.
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