Yes.
I was really tempted to end the post there (it would have set a new record for our shortest post ever which still stands at 5 words). Alas, this evening was not destined for such greatness.
The long answer isn’t a lot longer: it really is worth the investment (and storage space) to buy a pasta roller and cutter. Here’s why:
- Pasta rolled by hand is difficult to precisely control for thickness. An even thickness is critical for even cooking time.
- Cutting pasta into noodles is also inconsistently wide (see problem 1) and cutting by hand can easily double or triple the amount of time it takes to make pasta by hand.
- The units are affordable – ours was about $25.
- There’s a remarkable amount available in thrift stores or by asking friends and family – not a lot of people are willing to spend the few times it takes to learn to make it.
- You can dry the pasta for later use.
- It takes me 20-25 minutes of active prep (and about an hour total) to transform eggs and flour into cooked noodles. Although the hands-on time is longer the much shorter cooking time means the total time is almost identical.
We have very limited storage space but I can’t believe how much we’ve ended up using our hand-me-down hand-crank pasta roller and cutter.
If you make your own pasta, how do you cut/ roll it?
edit: April11, 2012. This article was originally published as a page instead of a post and was updated as a post today.
So worth it! I bought one at a thrift store a few months ago and finally – after running out of store bought pasta – I used it last week. It was so easy and took so little time. I try and reduce all forms of plastic in my life and the easiest way for me to do this is through my food purchases. I am able to buy bulk pasta – but only in the city two hours away – and I also try and eat mostly local. Luckily I have a fairly local source of whole wheat flour – though the recipe I followed called for half and half. It is still WAY more local than store bought pasta. I love it – I hope to never buy pasta again (except at restaurants of course). We will see how things go
Next experiment will be drying it for storage.
I have the pasta roller/cutter set for my Kitchen Aid mixer as well as the extruder that goes on the meat grinder for making spaghetti and macaroni. I LOVE them. Yes, expensive, but I’ve been getting pieces and gift cards for Birthdays and Christmas over the past 10 years, and the mixer was a wedding gift, so it hasn’t actually cost me much at all. I also have the citrus juicer and sausage stuffer so the hub gets used almost as much as the mixer does!
If you are going to try drink your pasta, I highly recommend this contraption: http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/24145-kitchenaid-pasta-drying-rack.aspx
Drinking pasta is highly overrated, Shannon!
How do you make the pasta for the extruder? I would love a recipe
We love the Kitchenaid pasta roller – what a time and arm saver, I am much more willing to make pasta with the KA – first i mix the dough in the base, then the roller does the rest. magic.
I use a long thick dowel stretched betwen two chairs, with a clean sheet on the floor, and put my cut pasta to rest while I do the rest
a pasta party is always fun – invite friends, ask them to bring different pasta sauces, and then make the pasta when they arrive. lots of fun and lots of engagement. We did it once and cut out and made fancy folded pastas a la Jamie Oliver (they looked like french braids). Nummy, time consuming, and a great time for all. with the KA roller it was so much faster than doing it by hand.
I love homemade, but there are times when a storebought package of macaroni makes for a friday mac and cheese that is easy on mom and keeps the kids fed and content.
Now, to design the pasta drink….. (snort)
drying…not drink! LOL
We do not buy store bought pasta any more, I make it fresh, I have found out that if you think ahead making everything from scratch is possible, ( I work a full time job outside of the house also) I make double batches and freeze our family size portions so on days that are hectic we still have fresh, I think it is worth the space and time to have the pasta maker. Enjoy
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Help! I did try a hand-crank pasta maker. After three attempts and lots of hard work cleaning the rollers, I only succeeded in 3 poor batches that stuck to everything! Yes, I did add flour, and more flour, and more flour. Any ideas anyone? I’d really like to accomplish this! Was it the pasta maker itself?