Perhaps the most important question I've ever asked - help me pick a pasta machine!

Just got back from 2 weeks in Italy and all jazzed up to make more Italian food at home. Step one (naturally) is getting a pasta maker. Anyone got one that they love? Please share the details - thanks!

The best pasta never touches a machine.

cvanc said:

Just got back from 2 weeks in Italy and all jazzed up to make more Italian food at home. Step one (naturally) is getting a pasta maker. Anyone got one that they love? Please share the details - thanks!

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We bought an Atlas 150 several years ago in a similar burst of enthusiasm. We really like it. It’s easy to clean and use and has several attachments that can be purchased.
I don’t believe my taste buds can tell the difference between pasta made with this machine or hand rolled/cut from the same dough.
I will say that once the pasta enthusiasm wears off the Atlas takes up very little room in the pantry. [emoji57]

Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine, Made in Italy, Chrome, Includes Pasta Cutter, Hand Crank, and Instructions https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009U5OSO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

We loved the pizzas in Italy. Actually, that style of pizza is common throughout Europe and we even had them in Australia.

Zeus-cat said:

We loved the pizzas in Italy. Actually, that style of pizza is common throughout Europe and we even had them in Australia.

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Agreed Carter. There was a place outside of Pescara called the Albatross; best pizza ever! And the local wine was amazing. BTW, did you ever have the Arrosticini when you were there?

We have a hand crank pasta maker. It’s fun but we make a huge mess when we use it (we have two young kids). The whole process from taking it out to cleaning up after took a long time so we’d only used it a couple times a year. These are good if you have lots of time, like hand making the pasta, and can contain the mess. Or don’t mind cleaning up.

We got a Philips automatic pasta maker and use it about once a week. Measure the ingredients and dump them in, in 10 minutes you have a pile of fresh pasta. You have to clean the maker itself, but there’s not flour and egg all over the counter and floor like we’d get with the hand crank machine. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00REJMIJ6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

If you’re really into the art and skill of it, get the hand crank one. If you just want to make a bunch of fresh pasta quick and easy, I recommend the Philips.

cvanc said:

Just got back from 2 weeks in Italy and all jazzed up to make more Italian food at home. Step one (naturally) is getting a pasta maker. Anyone got one that they love? Please share the details - thanks!

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The real question is what are you going to out on said pasta, "gravy" "sauce" "sugo" or "marinara"?:bangpan:

Carl, the actual answer is to hire a personal chef.

Funny, my Italian wife and the family all eat Barilla. I guess they are too lazy to make it themselves but I'll never say that. Sauce, sure it's a thing of pride but the pasta? Not so much.

The Atlas is a good choice. I made the mistake of picking up a cheap one from Bed Bath and Beyond. (brand unknown)

The cutter doesn't separate noodles very well (except when I make ramen noodles) and recently I discovered that it was wearing out. The two cutters are linked by toothed gears that are too soft. When I examined them while trying to figure out what was wrong,, I found that the were not wearing out but had deformed. I flipped them over which helped but eventually it will get replaced with an Atlas.

I make all sorts of things with it. Pasta of course but also sheets for lasagne and ravioli. Plus ramen and the occasional batch of noodles for chicken and noodle soup.

markkoelsch said:

Carl, the actual answer is to hire a personal chef.

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I like the cut of your jib, sir! :handshake::rofl:

markkoelsch said:

Carl, the actual answer is to hire a personal chef.

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cvanc said:

I like the cut of your jib, sir! :handshake::rofl:

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I was gonna say Olive Garden... Or Maggiano's... :wink:

Come to Milwaukee and go here

https://www.bartolottas.com/ristorante-bartolotta

pondman said:

Agreed Carter. There was a place outside of Pescara called the Albatross; best pizza ever! And the local wine was amazing. BTW, did you ever have the Arrosticini when you were there?

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No, missed that one Gary. My wife ordered a tomato salad in a small restaraunt; it was literally a bowl of cut up tomatoes and nothing else.

Re OP, I use my Kitchenaid stand mixer with the pasta rollers. Very easy to overmix - don't overdo it or it's hard as a rock. Just egg and semolina flour, tipo 00, and a bit of water to keep things as they should be. Then meatballs made from ground pork/prosciutto/parm reggiano/egg/garlic/bread crumbs/mint/parsley, then choose your preference of sauce - it's absolutely dynamite and old school Italian.

Barkley said:

...meatballs made from ground pork/prosciutto/parm reggiano/egg/garlic/bread crumbs/mint/parsley, then choose your preference of sauce - it's absolutely dynamite and old school Italian.

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OMG that sounds SO good!

Thanks everybody!