Many years ago, our mothers or grandmothers always did the homemade pasta, a delicacy that combines perfectly with fish, meat, and vegetables. Today, unfortunately, this tradition has almost been lost, especially for the advent of ready-made foods and an endless variety of dry or egg noodles that invaded supermarkets across the world. Moreover, also the time we have available to do something with our own hands, there is not in favor. Well, you do not know what you are missing! Making pasta at home is simple, inexpensive, and a great satisfaction, as well as delight the palate.
In recent years, for the need to eat more healthy food or to the increasingly frequent allergies or intolerances to gluten, we have seen an increase in purchases of pasta makers. In addition, the homemade pasta is much better than the readymade, saves money and you will have the satisfaction of saying “I made this”!
When you are looking to buy a pasta maker, it is important to know what you are looking for. Choose a poor quality product means a short duration of life of the car and a lot of hassle and inconvenience when trying to use it. The pasta makers are not that expensive and you can have a great quality product at an affordable price. In fact, in addition to classic pasta makers with the crank, we can find the electric pasta makers, which allow you to do a job that would otherwise require a lot of time with more speed.
There are different manufacturers and different types of the pasta maker, but choosing only the best pasta maker can be last for a lifetime. In this article, you will learn how to choose the best pasta maker that will allow you to make unbeatable pasta at home. Keep reading commercial pasta making machine.
How to choose a pasta maker
First, we start by classifying the pasta maker in two different types:
In the rest of the article, you will find short descriptions and comparison on both manual and electric pasta makers. Once you know which type of pasta maker you want to buy, you can choose from the best pasta maker we have reviewed.
The manual pasta maker
The manual pasta maker is very simple to use: first of all you must roll out the dough lightly, you select the thickness that you want to get through a knob, and then must be cycled through the opening by turning a crank on the side of the device, in order to make the thin pastry.
Let’s see what are the tips to prepare a perfect homemade pasta with the manual pasta maker…
The dough
To better work the dough, it is recommended let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes before you start working. In this way, the pasta has the necessary time to form the gluten, which makes it more elastic and therefore easily processable.
The stability
The pasta maker must be stable and well fixed on the supporting plane, to work the dough without effort while turning the crank.
The smattering
The paste that must be passed in the maker goes first floured to prevent it from sticking to the cylinders. Moreover, in this way it is easier to roll out. Even the work plan should be floured; to prevent the ready dough does not remain attached.
The thickness
One technique to keep in mind when it stretches the dough is to start with a thicker and then as it puffs thin decrease it until it reaches the desired thickness.
The electrical pasta maker
If you are thinking that manual pasta maker is a great help to make the homemade pasta, then the electric pasta maker is even more. Since some years are available on the market of the powerful models that use a machine to make precisely electric pasta maker. However, the machine can be integrated or not. In the case of the built-in machine, just divide the dough, add it in the rollers and press the power button. The only precautions to be taken are the same despite for manual pasta maker.
However, many of the electrical models can also be used manually, while the manual models can be added a machine sold separately. In some cases, the machine is compatible with models of the same manufacturer and is self-lubricated and silent.
The technology that accompanies an electrical maker for the dough, allows making pasta at home more easily and fast.
Manual pasta maker vs. Electric pasta maker
Having now seen what the characteristics of the two types of pasta makers, we summarize all in a table that illustrates the difference between a manual and an electric pasta maker, thus allowing you to choose which one is right for you.
| Manual | Electric | |
| Operation | By hand | power |
| Consumption | 100% ecological | Use the electric current |
| Price | Low and Medium range | Medium and High range |
| Duration | Eternal | Up to machine failure |
| Speed | * | *** |
Cleaning and Maintenance
When you have a pasta maker, you have to be careful not to wet it. The cleaning must be done with a damp cloth externally, while the rollers to use a brush with soft bristles, so as to remove any dough and flour residues.
Accessories
The pasta makers for the basic dough allow preparing simple formats of pasta as spaghetti, lasagna, and fettuccine. If you want to instead create other formats, they are for sale accessories such as roller to make ravioli and some types of cylinders to make pappardelle and angel hair.
You will find also in packaging a rolling maker, which allows cutting the dough sheet during processing. In addition, you can also find the accessories that allow you to “hang” the dough to dry out. If you do not have, however, a place to put this tool, you might consider purchasing a dryer to dry the pasta in total safety and hygiene.
There are also accessories that allow you to make gnocchi, penne, and rigatoni, but are mainly used in the industrial and professional level.
Conclusions
In this article, we saw the features, advantages, disadvantages and some tips on two types of pasta makers: manual and electrical maker. The manuals pasta makers require more physical effort and more time, but do not consume electricity and are very durable.
While for the electric pasta makers consume electricity, but there is no physical effort to make the dough and it is definitely faster.