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"Pasta Machines"
Good machine. Does what it is supposed to do. Purchased to do jewelry with. May buy one do actually do pasta with.

"Pasta maker"
I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this is to use. Making pasta is easy. The most difficult part is catching it as it comes out. I'd suggest getting a rack at the same time to hang the pasta on until you're ready to cook it.

"What a nightmare--"
This machine literally started falling apart as I was using it! It made my quest for handmade pasta a living hell. 2 out of 4 screws holding the roller mechanism to the base were rattling around inside the machine with no hope of retrieval, the rollers kept opening up thereby not holding the setting, and the cap to the dial kept falling off. I really wanted to give this item a negative star count, but that wasn't an option.

As good as homemade pasta is, I think I'll buy it store-made from now on.

"Works well FOR THE MONEY"
I got this pasta maker about 2 years ago (as a gift, I would have bought a better one) and have used it 30-40 times.
I had a lot of problems at first and blamed them on this "cheap" machine.
This machine is made in China, not Italy.

Note I got the 5 piece set and not just the basic machine here.
The five piece set is a better deal. See:
V178 AL DENTE 5 Piece Pasta Set

You certainly should buy an Italian machine if you want the best, can't beat the Atlas or Imperia, but this machine works well enough for home use; and especially for the cost.

If your dough is sticking all around the rollers like the "I HAVE to wash this thing!" reviewer wrote, then you're not making your dough properly.

I HIGHLY recommend Pasta Tecnica if you're having problems with making pasta with this machine. The book pretty much solved all my issues and I found out that most of the problems I blamed on this machine were my own doing. See:
Pasta Tecnica
Follow the instructions in the book, and this machine works just fine.

I heartily agree with the other reviewer about the ravioli attachment; useless. Ravioli is just not that hard to make.
The best tool for making raviloi is here:
Pastry Crimper
Besides, it's real important to get all the air out of your ravioli so they don't burst while cooking and the ravioli attachment just can't do that.

By the way, it's true that you don't ever wash your pasta maker; if you make your dough correctly, you won't have to wash it. It's the same with ALL pasta machines and has been forever. Get a clean paintbrush to clean it.

"just a note about all pasta machines"
One reviewer noted with frustration that the instruction booklet says that you aren't supposed to wash it with water. That's actually the way it is with all pasta machines--whether they say it or not. My mother has been making noodles with a machine like this for 25 years and I have had one for over 12 years. You are not supposed to wash them with water! And it is important to have the cutter because it cuts the noodles much more finely and more cleanly than you can with a knife. So, that's just a little general pasta machine info. I hope it is helpful to you!

 

V177 AL DENTE Pasta Machine

List Price : $29.99
Our Price : from $22.00

Why I buy this one ?
- Smooth, manual, crank operation for exceptional control.
- Good, Functional Pasta Machine at a Value Price.
- Many Optional Attachments (including angel hair, trenette, spaghetti, lasagnette, lasagna and ravioli).
- The cutter head is removable for easy cleaning. A hand crank, clamp, directions, and recipes are all included.
- Roller is 6 inches wide.


It's better to buy this one too...

Bartelt Pasta Drying Rack
details..
 

VillaWare V5500 10-Square Ravioli Maker
details..
 

V180 Pasta Machine Motorizer
details..
 

Special offer for you..find the cheapest!
Deerso offers this stuff with condition New, new for:
Price : $22.00
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
geroys from MN, United States offers this stuff for:
Price : $26.99
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Amazon.com offers this stuff with condition New, new for:
Price : $28.26
Usually ships in 24 hours
What our customer's say!

"This one is great.", Ok, This product works really well, and was pretty affordable. It was not cheaply made and it is pretty sturdy. So... GO FOR IT.
Short but true.


"Amazing!", We got this pasta maker about a week ago . So far we have used it twice.My wife simply loves it! She used to make pasta by hand , but this little machine simply makes the job so much easier, and faster.

"Works just like it should", I almost didn't buy this pasta machine because it had what looked like a scathingly bad review - but after reading said review more closely, I realized I should probably ignore it.

And I was right. This is a great little machine! I had been making pasta on my own for a little while, using only my rolling pin and and a knife, prior to ordering. This makes it so much easier. I rolled a bit of scrap dough through it to work out the machine oil, as suggested - and I highly recommend doing so.

Since then I haven't looked back. I can mix up one egg's worth of pasta dough anytime I want and roll out a great batch of noodles. It hasn't given me a lick of trouble - stays at the thickness I set, rolls smoothly, dough doesn't stick, cleans up quickly and I'm off to cook my pasta. I love it!

"Fantastic pasta maker!", It's simple and easy to use, and makes terrific pasta! The clean up is fast, and it is very well made. You get to control what goes into your pasta too. My wife and I are very pleased with this machine, and we have a lot of fun making our own noodles.

"Takes Some Practice", Initially, I was quite frustrated trying to get the roller to work. The dough kept tearing and it was impossible to get strips that were long enough. However, after some experimentation, I found it was easier to make long ropes of dough, flatten them by hand to 1/4 inch thickness, and then put them through the roller, instead of cutting 1/4 inch thick slices as the instructions recommend. As soon as I figured that out, I was quite happy with the results.

To reiterate what a previous reviewer said, however: Don't waste your time with the ravioli attachment. It's WAY more trouble than it's worth. A ravioli stamp produces better results, and is much easier to use.



 
You might need this...

V177-25 AL DENTE Ravioli Attachment
details..
 

The New Pasta Machine Cookbook
details..
 

Norpro Pasta Drying Rack
details..
 

Bartelt Pasta Drying Rack
details..
 

The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles
details..
 
Read this reviews before You buy...

"Great machine, very easy to use.", I wish I bought this machine much earlier. It's very easy to use and makes great pasta and noodles. I love it.

"Do NOT get attachments", 1. NEVER buy the RAVIOLI ATTACHMENT. It may look like it works. But it doesn't. At all. Not in any way. Out come mangled mushy pieces of dough. I spent a whole day trying to hold the pasta in exactly the right place to have it come out okay, but the most it will do is one good row. The others then proceed getting stuck. (The reason I say this here is that I am unable to make comments on the Ravioli attachment site, and I figure anyone who is gonna buy it will look here first anyways)

Otherwise, the pasta machine itself, while a bit of a hassle does allow for making pasta that looks more appealing than anything you could make yourself without its help. Not being able to wash it is a little annoying, but it seems to do its job. I must agree with other reviewers and say it does not look like the sturdiest piece of equipment. But for $20... hey, I'd buy it.

"Not very good quality", It actually works. It makes pasta. But, I don't see the point in having a separate piece for cutting the spaghettis, it keeps sliding off place. Also, under the pasta maker there are four screws that keep getting loose for some reason and coming off. I already lost one and so the piece that it was supposed to be holding is now loose. I bought this machine less than two months ago and I must have used it about 6 to 8 times so I would say it's not very good since it's falling apart. I had a similar one before, different brand, and I used it for years without any problems.

"Works like I expected", This is what I expected, however one of the non-slip pad screws was inside machine because the outter nut came off of the screw that came through the pad. The machine rattles because of the screw. Since it was a bargain at under $20, it was something I could live with. I didn't care for the main recipe as I prefer my grandmother's. 3/4 cup semolina flour to each egg- don't forget salt too. Let the dough rest in a plastic bag for at least 30 minutes in fridge and the roll will be smoother. Remember, never wash and dust with flour if any sticking.
I would buy again.

"You get what you pay for.", This pasta machine is cheap, and there are good reasons for that. I'll begin this review with a few quotes from the instruction booklet:

"Never wash the machine with water"
"Simply wipe the pasta machine clean with a dry cloth. Use a dry pastry brush to dust flour and bits of dough from hard to reach places."

Yes, you're not supposed to actually wash this pasta machine. If I had known that before buying, I wouldn't have bought it. In my opinion, any kitchen item which comes in intimate contact with my food must be cleanable! Whisking with a pastry brush doesn't do the job.

I used this gadget once. Here are my findings, which hopefully will help you decide whether this item will be worth your money:

1) It clamps onto a working surface with a G clamp. Because of the wide flanges on the end of the clamp, I cound not attach it to any section of my kitchen counter. My countertop simply does not stick out that far. I finally ended up clamping it onto my kitchen table.

2) According to the instruction manual, "The machine will have some excess oil from the factory to protect it before it reaches you." To remove the oil, the manual instructs you to run some dough through it over and over. So that's what I did, for about 20 minutes. Over and over, watching the lump of dough get grimy and streaked with oil, wondering when it was going to get clean enough to work with something that I was eventually going to eat, because, as I had to remind myself, I must not use soap and water!

3) When I could no longer see streaks of oil, I threw the now-discolored "tester dough" away. I was using dough for wheat noodles - using my own wheat-flour-salt recipe, as the one in the booklet includes eggs, and using dough made with eggs in a nonwashable machine was a little more than I was willing to try. I passed some dough through the flattening rollers, and that worked well enough. But when I passed the flattened strips of dough through the noodle cutters - well, the wide noodles did not come out neat and already separated; I had to pull them apart by hand, which was a headache when I had a pile of noodles-to-be. The finer noodle cutter did no better, and the dough got caught in the sides of the rollers and under the guard. That, and the prospect of manually pulling apart all those fine little noodles, discouraged me from using that head any more.

4) After I cut all the noodles and set them in boiling water to cook, I took off the cutting head and found that dough was stuck in the corners, between the cutting heads, and especially under the guard. I did my best to clean it with a dry cloth and a pastry brush, as the manual described, but there was no way that was going to remove the wads of dough stuck in all the crannies, especially under the guard, where the brush cannot reach at all. I then took the head to the sink and washed it with soap, water, and a brush as well as I could, because I consider the risk of rust to be preferable to the risk of unclean food preparation surfaces. I then blow-dried it, hoping that that would eliminate the water before it could do any damage.

5) However, when I looked the next day, on turning the rollers - yep, rust.

So, in conclusion - the purpose of a kitchen gizmo like this is to save the work of doing everything manually. In this case that would be rolling out the dough and cutting it yourself. It does that only passably, depending on how willing you are to separate semiperforated noodles. In the end, I spent more time attempting to clean this thing than I would have just using a rolling pin and knife. If you're advanced enough to make your own noodles, then it's very likely you understand the importance of clean food preparation surfaces - a basic element of kitchen safety - and will not want to use a gadget that rusts if you subject it to soapy water.



 
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