Machine for making pasta at home. Homemade pasta? Now it's easy
Fresh pasta from ingredients you know +this pasta cooks faster +fast pasta cooking program +easy controls +easy and quick to disassemble and assemble +easy to clean parts +all parts are stored in the machine itself +protected lid +book with interesting recipes and recommendations
Minuses
Fragile plastic of the transparent lid - the proportions in some recipes need to be adjusted to suit yourself - not for small kitchens - I would like to add a repeat kneading function.
Review
When I first found out about the existence of a pasta machine, a device that makes pasta from scratch, I was crazy about the idea of trying it out. I think all those who like to cook at home will understand my passion. And if you are also a pasta lover, then such a machine is just a dream. And finally my husband brought it - a pasta machine from Philips. The machine looks quite simple: a smooth white plastic body, rounded corners, a transparent plastic cover on top, four control buttons, and an aluminum panel with two handles on the front. At the bottom there is a compartment for storing attachments and cleaners - this is very convenient. The set includes 4 attachments for cooking: lasagne sheets, spaghetti (noodles), penne and fettuccine. In the attached catalog of recipes you can learn, for example, how to make cannelloni, tagliatelle, farfalle, ravioli, etc. from lasagna sheets. So you can prepare many more types of pasta than there are attachments. Also included are two attachment cleaners, a paste scraper and two measuring cups - one for flour and one for liquid. It didn't take long to study the instructions. Everything is clear on an intuitive level. The principle of operation of the pasta machine is that it kneads the dough itself and squeezes it out through the nozzle, which forms the paste itself. All I have to do is measure the flour with a special cup and pour it into the container of the pasta machine, measure a certain amount of the egg-water mixture or just water using a second cup, close the lid, press two buttons, pour liquid through the holes in the lid, and that’s it! After 10 minutes the pasta is ready. Through the transparent lid you can see how the dough is kneaded (only 3 minutes). A very important function if you have children: the pasta machine stops instantly if you open the lid, and you can’t start it without the lid. The machine makes 300g of pasta in 10 minutes and 600g of pasta in 15 minutes, that is, it has two programs: for one cup of flour or for two. Freshly prepared pasta cooks a little faster than store-bought pasta. Total: lunch for three from homemade freshly prepared pasta in 20 minutes! And my family said that this pasta tastes better! In the attached recipe book you can see pasta options made from different types of flour (whole grain, buckwheat, spelled), with different additives (juices for coloring, curry, herbs, cocoa) indicating the flour-liquid proportions. I tried different options. I boiled the finished pasta, dried it, and froze it. From my own experience, I can say that different flours require different amounts of liquid. This is not reflected in the instructions. Because of this, not everything worked out for me the first time. I even threw out a couple of batches. But experience is gaining, I edited the recipes myself and now everything works out. There are no problems with washing the machine if you wait until the dough dries. It is simply cleaned off from all parts. It is better not to soak parts with dough residues - it will be difficult to wash it off. I am pleased with the Philips pasta machine; it gives a huge scope for culinary imagination on the topic of pasta. And the child is so happy, because this is such a fascinating sight - the pasta crawls out of the car as if alive!
Is homemade pasta easy and simple?
Homemade pasta is an easy-to-prepare, tasty and satisfying dish, which, however, is not so often found in Russia. The reason for this is the lack of habit of preparing such dishes and quite fair fears that the pasta machine will become another unnecessary gadget that will be rarely used, and the rest of the time will only take up space. In addition, domestic consumers are accustomed to dry pasta (secca) and practically never encounter fresh pasta (fresca) in everyday life. But these are fundamentally different products. Since pasta making machines have not previously appeared on the iXBT pages, in our testing today we will not only talk about the device itself (this is a Redmond RKA-PM1 manual drive machine), but also pay some attention to the rules for making pasta.
Characteristics
Equipment
The pasta machine comes in a cardboard box, decorated in the same Redmond design: black and burgundy color scheme and colorful illustrations. Having examined the box, you can find out that the machine allows you to change the thickness of the rolled dough, and can also cut the noodles in two ways (thin cutting 2 mm - tagliatelle, or thick cutting 6 mm - fettuccine).
However, we give the designer of this particular box a “failure”: a single photograph of the finished dish placed on the box depicts an unknown dish like “pasta with meat”, and the pasta depicted in the illustration was clearly not produced using the RKA-PM1. It’s difficult to explain such a blunder other than simple laziness and unwillingness to take a photo of the product yourself.
Opening the box, inside you can find:
- the pasta making machine itself (including a removable handle and attachment to the work surface);
- manual;
- service book;
- promotional materials.
As we can see, there is nothing superfluous.
At first sight
Visually, the Redmond RKA-PM1 pasta machine makes an extremely positive impression. The device is quite weighty, thanks to which it immediately acquires a certain “solidity” in the eyes of the user, and shiny stainless steel enhances this impression.
The machine is attached to the working surface (table) using a special mechanism, which will certainly resemble the installation of a conventional manual meat grinder. To fix the machine on the table, just insert the bracket into the hole and tighten the mechanism with a screw. Noteworthy is the fact that the hole on the body is significantly larger than the diameter of the fastening bracket. At the same time, the bracket has a recess with a notch that does not allow it to jump out of the body during operation.
This mounting method is widespread for pasta machines and allows you to securely mount the device on any suitable surface. By the way, about suitable surfaces: it is clear that such a pasta machine can only be used on a regular table, or a tabletop with a strongly protruding edge: for reliable fastening you will need at least 6 cm. For additional grip on the work surface, the machine has rubberized legs. They will also protect the table from possible scratches.
The handle with which the mechanism is rotated is simply inserted into the appropriate hole (for rolling out dough or cutting noodles). Once installed, the handle is not secured in anything and noticeably “plays”, which is quite sad: I would like to see at least minimal protection against its spontaneous falling out. For example, a latch on a spring-loaded ball.
Instructions and recipe book
The instructions for the pasta machine are a small brochure (10 pages), printed on high-quality glossy paper. The contents of the brochure are standard: description of the device, rules of operation and maintenance, warranty obligations. Separate sections contain information regarding the preparation of the dough, as well as the preparation and storage of homemade pasta.
The second brochure, bearing the proud name “Recipe Book,” in fact consists of 50% advertising materials. Subtracting them, the bottom line is only five recipes: homemade noodles, soba, fettuccine, spaghetti, chocolate noodles. The recipes are provided with a detailed description of the cooking process and colorful photographs.
Control
Not much can be said about device control.
The main control is the distance regulator between the rolling rollers. To select the desired dough thickness, you need to pull out the knob, then turn it to the desired mark and release. The locking pin will fit into one of the holes, after which the movable roller will be fixed. A total of 9 positions are available, corresponding to different dough thicknesses. The markings on the regulator are not neat: it can be difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to understand exactly what position it is in (especially in the middle positions - from 4 to 7).
The selection of the rotating element (dough rollers/fine slicing/coarse slicing) is carried out by installing the rotating handle in the corresponding slot.
Exploitation
Before the first use, the pasta machine does not require any special actions: the device is ready for use immediately. The developer recommends wiping the machine with a soft, dry cloth or a medium-hard brush. It is recommended to pass a small amount of dough through the cleaning rollers several times (which should then, of course, be thrown away).
The process of rolling out the dough is quite simple: a piece of dough of the appropriate size should be passed through the rollers at the maximum set width (position 1 on the regulator). If the dough needs to be made thinner, the regulator must be sequentially set to positions 2-9, rolling the dough with each change of position.
To cut noodles, the prepared dough should be cut into layers about 25 cm in length, and then pass these layers through cutting rollers.
Caring for a pasta machine does not require the use of water. The remaining dough should be cleaned off with a dry brush or wooden stick. It is recommended to periodically lubricate the rollers of the device with vegetable oil.
Testing
Objective tests
In this article, we are forced to skip this section, since there were no professional paste manufacturers among our testers, and it is not possible to evaluate the performance of the device in any other way except with the help of a specially trained person. Let's just say that the width of one layer of dough is 14.5 cm, but then it all depends on the skill of the cook.
Lyrical digression
Secondly, this is the composition. Pasta dough consists of flour and water. Egg paste - made from flour, water and eggs. The remaining additives are optional, so they are not of primary interest to us as part of testing.
As part of testing, we prepared several types of pasta:
- homemade noodles with egg and spinach;
- homemade noodles with egg and tomato;
- soba (made from wheat and buckwheat flour);
- chocolate noodles (with cocoa powder).
All of it turned out to be of equally high quality, so we will not evaluate the recipes separately (especially since the rules for kneading the dough are the same in all cases). For those interested, below are the recipes we used.
(photos below are for illustrative purposes only and may not correspond to the text)
Homemade noodles with egg and spinach
- flour - 350 g
- egg - 100 g (2 pcs.)
- vegetable oil - 20 ml
- water - 50 ml (the water count also includes boiled spinach pureed through a sieve or chopped in a blender)
Homemade noodles with tomato
- flour - 100 g
- egg - 1 pc.
- tomato paste or pureed tomato - 1 teaspoon.
The proportion of 100 grams of flour per egg is a classic - it is considered optimal for making homemade pasta.
Soba
- wheat flour - 250 g
- buckwheat flour 100 g
- water - 100 ml
Chocolate noodles
- wheat flour - 200 g
- egg - 50 g (1 pc.)
- cocoa - 40 g
- vanilla - 2 g
- water - 70 ml
So how is the dough kneaded?
The flour is sifted through a sieve, after which a “well” is formed from it - a depression is created in the center of the pile of flour into which an egg is driven. The future dough is mixed. If the recipe uses water or other additives, they are introduced slowly with continuous stirring. Knead the dough until smooth, after which it should be rolled into a ball, wrapped tightly in cling film and left at room temperature for 30-40 minutes.
Is the pasta dough easy to knead? Not good. The finished dough is very dense, so if you plan to prepare pasta in large quantities, we strongly recommend using an electric dough kneader. Also note that the dough is not salted.
The rested dough is cut into pieces of suitable size and lightly rolled out using a rolling pin.
Then it’s time for the pasta machine. The sheets of dough are passed through the rollers: approximately three times at the “first” (maximum) width (until it is completely uniform and begins to pass without effort), plus once each time the thickness is reduced. So, if we need pasta with a conditional “thickness of 4”, then the dough will have to be passed through a pasta machine about six times. Plus once at the cutting stage.
Alas, mistakes are inevitable for beginning pasta makers. We were no exception: in the process, you must not only remember to set the rollers to maximum thickness when starting to roll out the next piece of dough, but also pay attention to the correct folding of the finished sheets, sprinkle the finished pasta with flour, monitor the structure of the dough (the temperature in the room is too high or Excess moisture in the dough can cause the noodles to stick together when cutting).
Once we completely turned the roller in the opposite direction, thereby completely sealing the insides of the machine with dough. I had to use wooden skewers to clean it.
In general, as in the preparation of any other dish involving flour, there are nuances, and there are many of them. However, we cannot help but note that the second experience of using a pasta machine turned out to be much less frightening than the first acquaintance with the device, and possible losses relate mainly to the time spent: it is quite difficult to spoil the pasta, but to spend an extra half hour or hour due to typical “rookie mistakes” are very easy.
The finished pasta is slightly dried directly on the table or on a special tray, after which it is stored in the refrigerator for up to five days, and in the freezer for four months.
You only need to cook this pasta for a very short time: usually 60-90 seconds, in plenty of salted water. During this time, the eggs and flour protein will have time to “set.” And within a couple of minutes after the start of cooking, the pasta will begin to boil and become loose.
conclusions
Using the RKA-PM1 pasta machine left us with an extremely positive experience. The pasta turned out equally good regardless of the recipes chosen, and even minor incidents such as an accidentally dropped pen did not darken our joy either from the process or from the result. This kitchen gadget is ideal for preparing pasta for one dinner.
For those who are going to prepare significant volumes of pasta and freeze it “in reserve,” we strongly recommend that you consider a dough kneading machine. Although labor-intensive kneading of dough is not a direct characteristic of a pasta machine, it would not be out of place to mention it in the context of this review.
pros
- compactness
- energy independence
Minuses
- handle fastening without locking
- unclear marking of operating modes
A pasta machine as a business idea deserves due attention. This is one of the most economical ways to run a business from home. To start a pasta business using such a machine you will need very little capital, which makes it accessible to everyone. You can start with just $300. The pasta machine itself and the accompanying equipment are relatively cheap. And if you calculate its benefits and profits from such a business, then in the first month you can achieve profitability. The pasta machine comes with various attachments. If you wish, you can buy more of this stuff to expand the range. Before making pasta, you need to learn a simple recipe. Use good quality bread flour as it contains high levels of gluten. This is very important for pasta, because it must have a special texture. This is basically a grade 1 flour. This flour is very soft and has a very fine grind. If you want pasta that is not too hard, then buy regular flour. As for the recipe and ingredients for preparing pasta using a machine, you can additionally use semolina flour, rice flour and egg yolk, according to the recipe. It is also very important to add natural food colors to prepare colored dough. This will help give your pasta some marketability and appeal. Check out the table of natural food colors. You can use those colors and dyes that are convenient for you and always at hand.
The Budget Line produces pasta in any kitchen
Pasta production is a great business idea for minimal investment. Food is a product that will be relevant at all times. Pasta is a very popular product among consumers. Finding customers willing to buy pasta at a reasonable price is quite easy. Pasta products have a fairly long shelf life and do not require special conditions during transportation. Pasta is made mainly from flour and water. Accordingly, the costs are minimal. The business of producing pasta at home is accessible to even the poorest investor. The ease of creating such a business is within the power of housewives. To organize a minimum production line at home, you will need the following equipment:
- Pasta machine with dough mixer function.
- A sieve for sifting flour.
- Oven for drying mascarons.
The principle of operation of the machine in the pasta production process
The pasta machine operates during most stages of production. The dough can be kneaded directly in the machine itself; a simple re-equipment of the equipment will help with this. If you choose the right model, it can be retrofitted with special augers to support the functions of the dough mixer. Once your dough is ready, put it in a cool place for a while. And then you roll the dough into a roller and feed it into the receiving tray of the machine, which has previously been reconfigured for the production of pasta. And you make your own pasta of any shape and complexity. The shape depends on the attachment installed on the machine and your imagination. You can also adjust the length of the product (size) to taste. Semolina flour is used to sprinkle the receiving tray, auger and attachments so that the dough does not stick to the walls of the machine. In order to get the thickest side pasta, you can use a special attachment. In the same way you can prepare noodles, spaghetti and exclusive products.
High productivity pasta machine for small businesses
When you develop a good base of regular customers, find your markets and ways to sell your products, a problem may arise. This is the performance of the line. At this point, you should think about upgrading the production line. You can use a more expensive pasta machine with an excellent performance of 12 kg/hour. A new, productive pasta machine will not only improve product turnover, but will also make your work easier without hiring workers. The Italian brand Marcato Ristorantica produces productive machines for pasta, noodles and spaghetti that operate automatically. Kneading dough, rolling, cutting - all processes are performed automatically, you just need to install attachments, load flour with water and set the necessary parameters (length, thickness, speed, etc.). With such a machine (extruder) you can work in continuous production mode. The cost of productive equipment is quite high – $4375. But on the other hand, there is something to pay for when you already have an established business. The attachments are made of bronze (very easy to clean). The length of the pasta is monitored by a special sensor with a photocell. Rolling and cutting the dough occurs automatically in just 4 minutes. Well, in general, as already mentioned, the productivity is 12 kg. in an hour, and this is already a home mini-factory. As a result, the business idea looks very attractive. Simple business concept, simple business plan. Simple steps to organize production with very little capital investment. The products produced are also attractive, since they are food - an energy resource and a consumable material for humans. But even if problems arise with sales during certain seasons, we can optimistically note the fact that free pasta in the kitchen will not hurt anyone.
Today we will talk about a modern and useful kitchen appliance for every housewife - a pasta machine or noodle cutter, as it is also called.
What associations do we have when we mention pasta? Of course, sunny Italy. However, if we turn to the history of this wonderful product, it turns out that the roots should be sought in the East, namely in China.
Since ancient times, in the East the nutritional properties of noodles have been valued, and according to many beliefs and rituals it was believed that eating noodles prolongs life and brings happiness.
It is quite obvious that people began to dry pieces of dough in order to stock up on the product for future use. This was needed primarily by tavern owners, as well as travelers. The development of the Maritime Republics in the territory of modern Italy contributed to an increase in trade and maritime transport, and accordingly the tradition of drying pasta spread through this area with great speed.
Since the 16th century, the construction of factories for processing wheat and making pasta began throughout Italy: they produced products such as vermicelli (Italian - worm), trenette (perhaps the most traditional form of Italian pasta), fidelini (a type of pasta slightly thicker than vermicelli) , lasagna, as well as the shells, butterflies, spirals and feathers we know.
In connection with the start of industrial production of pasta, their cost decreased and this product became available to ordinary citizens.
As for Russia, the first pasta factory was opened in the 18th century in Odessa. The technological process was quite complex, and a large share was manual labor.
Today, pasta is prepared in all corners of the world, but in our minds this product is most often associated with Italian cuisine. And it is not surprising that the world famous brand for the production of home pasta machines is the Italian brand Marcato.
The founder of the company, Italian Othello Marcato, opened his own production of equipment for preparing food at home in 1938.
Now it is a large company that has won recognition all over the world due to the quality of its products. Since all accessories, as well as the Marcato pasta machines themselves, are produced exclusively in Italy, the company can rightfully be proud of its products with the “Made in Italy 100%” label, which the Italians themselves value so much.
All components of Marcato noodle cutters are made of a special metal alloy that is safe for health. The machines are easy to wash after use.
New models of pasta machines traditionally take part in international exhibitions, winning recognition from new fans. This is facilitated by the absolutely affordable price level of the products, combined with the high quality of Marcato products.
In Russia, the official representative of the Marcato brand is the ReeHouse Group.
We will begin our acquaintance with Marcato products with the simplest and most convenient pasta machine for home use, Regina.
This machine allows you to prepare 5 types of products: vermicelli, pasta, curls and horns in two sizes. The finished dough is placed in a special container, we turn the handle and we get homemade pasta! Before cooking, it is recommended to dry the resulting product on a towel.
A bestseller is the Atlas 150 pasta machine (Marcato Atlas).
This machine is equipped with a very useful accessory - a roller for thinly rolling out dough, the width of which is 15 cm. The roller has 9 positions for adjusting the thickness of the dough. Also on this machine you can prepare two types of noodles: 2.2 mm and 6.6 mm wide.
If desired, you can purchase an electric drive for the Pastadrive pasta machine.
Another very useful accessory that can be purchased in addition to the Atlas 150 pasta machine is a ravioli attachment (Marcato Ravioli).
Using this attachment, you will have the opportunity to prepare a truly Italian dish, Ravioli - an analogue of Russian and Ukrainian dumplings. Ravioli have a square shape with a curly edge. The filling can be absolutely anything (meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruits). They can be boiled or fried. In this case, it is appropriate to serve them with broth or soup.
The Marcato ravioli attachment allows you to prepare 4*4cm squares of dough, 3 squares in a row.
The most versatile is the set for pasta and ravioli Multipast 150 (Marcato Multipast).
The set includes 6 attachments that allow you to cook pasta types such as lasagne (sheets), noodles, spaghetti, ravioli and regginetti (wavy flat).
If you really want to make your own pasta, you need to purchase a Takapasta pasta dryer.
This dryer is made from high-quality, health-safe plastic and has 15 hangers. Allows you to dry pasta, noodles, lasagna before heat treatment.
The final element that will allow you to enjoy the cooking process and, of course, the result, is the Pastabike pasta cutter.
The noodle cutter allows you to cut rolled out dough into shapes: for cookies, ravioli, bows, etc. The cutting width can be adjusted by rearranging the cutting discs.
The Marcato factory also has something to offer professional chefs. combines the best that Marcato has to offer.
Performs three main functions: kneading dough, rolling and cutting.
According to the technical characteristics, the machine meets the requirements of professional chefs and is designed for continuous use throughout the day. It has a high level of productivity - 12 kg of paste per hour.
The design of the pasta machine, which Italian specialists worked on, allows you to install it in the hall and cook pasta in front of the guests.
The popularity of Italian cuisine is growing year by year, contributing to the growth of interest in kitchen appliances that make it possible to bring to life the most daring Italian recipes.
We are sure that the products manufactured by the world famous company Marcato Spa will not leave any housewife indifferent. And if a Marcato pasta machine appears in your kitchen, it will be a great reason to surprise and delight your loved ones with delicious dishes!
13.01.2016
While wandering around the Internet, I came across an interesting collection of special devices or devices for making homemade pasta (pasta), varieties of which are very rarely found on supermarket shelves.
I will not consider portable machines for making homemade noodles and pasta. We will talk about more extraordinary devices for making everyone’s favorite pasta.
Bigolaro (bigolari or bigolarista (Torchio per Pasta - Italian pasta press)) is a manual press, mainly made of bronze, with specific attachments for the production of a “thick” type of spaghetti - Gargati and tubular pasta Rigatoni, related by the common name bigolari.
This type of paste was invented by the Italian Francesco Bottene in 1875 and was patented under the name “New Machine for Making Homemade Pasta.” However, there is a legend that a similar machine for making pasta was already developed in 1604 by a pasta merchant from the Italian city of Padua. And in fact, since then, this type of pasta has been given the name bigolari (from Italian bigat), which means caterpillar in local language.
Maybe, in particular, that’s why the new machine was popularly called Bigolaro, and the craftsman who used it to produce bigolari pasta was nicknamed bigolarista. The main feature of the pasta from this press is its texture, which was “rough”, allowing it to hold the sauce well.
Due to the relatively high cost of a new device for making pasta, not everyone could afford it, so families invited a specialist with his own personal machine to make pasta of the Gargati and Rigatoni variety. So bigolarista, fixing his pasta press on a bench, squeezed out the required amount of long pasta from the dough that the owners of the house gave him.
Here is the process of extracting pasta from this tool in the video:
Using this device, you can produce paste from any dough weighing almost 0.5 kg at a time. Nowadays, such a press can be bought from the descendants of Francesco Bottene in the company “Bottene”, which is located in the city of Vicenza (Italy) or from the Chinese on AliExpress.
Corzetti stampae or corzetti stamp is a fresh homemade pasta that looks like a thin circle of embossed dough, made with special wooden stamps in a variety of patterns. The pattern, in addition to its interesting appearance, holds the sauce well thanks to its ribbed surface. This type of pasta is typical for the cuisine of Liguria in Italy.
The process of preparing stamped pasta corzetti stampae consists of successive steps: rolling out the dough in a thin layer; cutting round plates; plates are embossed with a special wooden stamp on both sides.
The pasta made in this way is first dried a little, and then boiled in a large amount of salted water.
Italian dumplings
Gnocchi (Italian: gnocchi) are Italian oval-shaped dumplings that have been prepared for 2000 years. They are considered the prototype of all other types of dumplings known in the world. And they became widespread during the expansion of the Roman Empire into European countries.
Most often, wheat flour is used to prepare them, but semolina, eggs, different types of cheese, spinach and bread crumbs are also added. Served as a first course with the addition of cheese, tomato sauce or pesto.
The word “gnocchi” itself, according to some assumptions, comes from the Italian “nocchio”, which means wooden branch, or “nocca” - fist.