Making Homemade Pasta is Easy With A Pasta Machine
You may wonder why you need to make fresh pasta when you can buy
many types of dried pastas, in a variety of flavors, in most grocery
stores today. Store bought pasta is one of the most convenient foods
around, and the dried pasta can be stored in your pantry for a very long
time, but fresh pasta has a delicate flavor and texture that makes it
worth the extra effort.
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With so many fresh pastas available today, why should you make your own?
The
main reason I like making homemade pasta is because I can control the
ingredients and flavors. Store bought fresh pasta contains preservatives
and chemicals that can easily be avoided when you make your own pasta.
You are also limited only by your imagination when choosing the flavors
of your own pasta. Homemade ravioli is best because you can fill it with
anything you want, and you can avoid the high fat meats common in many
commercially prepared ravioli. Homemade pasta is not difficult at all to
make once you learn how to make the dough and how to cut your fresh
pasta into your desired shape. It is even possible to make chocolate
pasta!
Do you need a Pasta Machine?
It is
quite possible to make homemade pasta dough and simply cut it with a
knife on a cutting board, however, a pasta machine will take the work
out of some of the kneading and will give your dough a good consistency
and uniform thickness. Once you have made your pasta dough, it needs to
be rolled out and cut to your desired shape. With the variety of pasta
shapes and styles, that task is a bit more demanding than it sounds and a
good pasta maker can make the whole task a lot easier and more fun.
Which Pasta Machine is Best?
When
shopping for a pasta machine there are a few things you should
consider. A basic hand crank machine is not very expensive and has been
good enough for centuries. These are fun and not difficult to master but
you will be limited to what types of pasta shapes you can make. The
most basic machines come with a cutting attachment for linguine and
spaghetti. If you move up to a slightly more expensive machine, there
are usually additional cutting attachments you can use a few more
varieties. Think about what types of pastas you usually make and how
much variety you will want from your machine.
Making homemade
pasta with an electric pasta machine can be easy because these machines
include a greater variety of attachments and will save you the work of
rolling the dough through the machine, however, many consider the
texture to be inferior to the old fashioned crank machines. They are
also a little more expensive but you will easily recoup the investment
on any pasta machine since buying fresh pasta is quite expensive.
Another
consideration when purchasing a pasta machine is to look for a sturdy
model made of stainless steel and is easy to clean. A clean machine is
important to prevent the pasta from sticking when rolling and cutting
through the machine.
Prices range from about $20 for a basic, hand
crank machine to over $100 for an expensive unit with electric motors
which provide more ways to roll and slice, and ease-of-use features. Top
of the line models, which are often not much more money, incorporate
bowls, stirring rods, kneaders and other features to allow making the
dough as well. That puts the whole operation together in one unit. Not
bad!
Whether you choose to use a pasta machine or just make some
dough and roll it out by hand, it will be worth your time and effort to
try making homemade pasta fresh in your kitchen. You can add many
ingredients and tailor the pasta dough to any specific diet you may
have. There are many homemade pasta recipes you can try so let your
imagination guide you and have fun making pasta!
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