You fantasize about owning a pasta-maker. You picture a rainy night, the kids taking turns hand-cranking linguine at the kitchen counter, “Ratatouille” playing in the background. Or plugging in a fancy piece of equipment and throwing your foodie buddies a pasta extravaganza. Before buying a gadget, use your noodle: Which scenario is more likely? These experts’ tips will help you decide what to buy.
Assess your needs and expectations
“Do you want to make a pound of fresh pasta in 15 minutes, or would you prefer to make it the old-fashioned way with a hand-crank machine?” asks Adam Blank, vice president of merchandising for Williams-Sonoma. “Both produce amazing results but offer vastly different experiences.”
If you have pasta only a couple of times a month when cravings strike, then a manual model will do the trick. “There’s no need to spend a ton of money when you’re just learning,” says “Top Chef” star Tom Colicchio.
However, if you pretty much live on pasta or love cooking for big crowds, you might want to splurge on an electric one.
The old school method
While charming, the simplicity of a hand-cranking machine poses a challenge. “It’s not going to make the dough for you,” says Colicchio.
Not much of a baker? Celebrity chef Fabio Viviani has good news:”You can easily make the dough with a food processor.”
Manual machines usually produce smooth sheets of dough that can be turned into various carby delights. Colicchio advises using sheets to make ravioli, tortellini or lasagna. Additional attachable blades for spaghetti, linguine or reginette can be separately purchased for as little as $15.
Hand-cranking machines made in China start at $35. For an Italian model like the Marcato Atlas that Viviani uses at home, you’ll have to shell out about $80.
Just make sure you’re buying the real deal. Sometimes, “made in Italy” means that only the moniker’s final touches were made in the Boot, warn experts at Weston Brands, a manufacturer of food processing products.
With proper care though, most manual machines will last a lifetime.
The one owned by Domenica Marchetti, author of seven books on Italian cooking, was brought into the marriage by her husband 24 years ago. “It has never needed a tuneup or repair,” says Marchetti.
The fancy method
Fresh pasta at the touch of button might be a mind-blowing concept. So is the price of electric home models, up to $400. Still, not all fancy gadgets are created equal. While Weston’s $229.99 Roma Electric Pasta Machine will automatically produce paper-thin pasta sheets, it won’t help with the dough.
An all-in-one machine that mixes, kneads and extrudes the dough — and promises to do so in under 15 minutes — comes with a $300-plus price tag.
Some gadgets will even coach you through the process. For example, Blank’s $350 electric helper, Philips Smart Pasta Maker, is equipped with a built-in scale that tells him how much water and egg to add.
Of course, a $50 machine from, say, Walmart, sounds like a steal. The end result? Not that great. “The dough usually comes out grainy,” says Sabrina Sexton, of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. “Pasta dough is a stiff, heavy dough that requires a powerful motor to work it. I can’t imagine the motor would last very long.”
As for the size, a standard electric machine is only slightly larger than, say, a coffee maker.
The no-fuss way
Maybe you already own a stand mixer such as a KitchenAid. Instead of investing in a separate appliance, simply buy a pasta rolling attachment and let the mixer do double duty. “This is my favorite,” says Sexton. “It was twice the price of a hand-cranked one, but it uses the motor of the mixer to operate the machine, making the whole process very fast.”
Finally, all pasta-makers and attachments can safely be purchased online. “This is not a pair of shoes to try on,” jokes Viviani. “Do your research, read some reviews and you’ll be OK.”
