Is making your own pasta worth the effort?

pattyk

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I've been given a pasta maker for Christmas. It's an interesting looking gadget, and looks like it could be a lot of fun to make your own pasta. However, can anyone tell me if it's worth all of the effort, because it does seem to take a while to roll it all out to a certain thinness etc. Also, is it possible to actually dry it out fully and store it? I'm keen to give it a go, but I'm skeptical at the same time.

Anyone here a keen pasta maker?
 
I would love to have one of those machines! I am super jealous. I think that they are totally worth it. At home we absolutely love to make our own pasta and we know that a pasta maker would really help us out because we do it all by hand. We specifically like to make our own ravioli and with the pasta maker it would be a breeze. I am not sure why you say it would take a while to gain a certain thinness because all of the ones that I have used have had some sort of adjuster to make it to your desired thinness. In addition to ravioli, we like to make our own lasagna pasta and again that would be a breeze. I'd love to tackle making some tortellini if I had the machine.

I am definitely think that it is well worth it to use. I hope you have fun!
 
They're worth it in the sense that they normally charge an arm and a leg for "fresh" pasta it our local grocery stores, and I hate paying that much for something that is really just flour and water (and maybe some egg). If you pick up some ravioli molds, you can certainly make all sorts of home made ravioli with creative fillings. Or make your own pierogi with a simple round mold and a fork.

However they are pretty time consuming as you've noticed, and messy in terms of getting flour everywhere. I haven't personally made home made pasta with one of those machines since the 80's when I used to make it from time to time with my grandmother. She had a simple rack made out of dowel rods for the pasta to hang from (when we were making stuff like fettuccine). We never let the pasta completely dry to what you would get out of a box at the grocery store, and I don't know if that would even work. I'm not sure how they get those pastas so dry like that - I would be concerned about mold or something forming on it in the process. We always cooked ours relatively soon, within a day or so.

The only pasta I've made by hand in recent years were gnocchi and cavatelli, which don't require any special equipment, and they turned out fine.
 
I would not recommend trying to dry or preserve home made pasta. I think the idea is that you make it fresh for a meal you are preparing.

Although it will take time to prepare your own pasta, you could do this a few hours in advance, or on the day before it's needed.

It will cook faster than dried pasta.
 
I would love to have one of those machines! I am super jealous. I think that they are totally worth it. At home we absolutely love to make our own pasta and we know that a pasta maker would really help us out because we do it all by hand. We specifically like to make our own ravioli and with the pasta maker it would be a breeze. I am not sure why you say it would take a while to gain a certain thinness because all of the ones that I have used have had some sort of adjuster to make it to your desired thinness. In addition to ravioli, we like to make our own lasagna pasta and again that would be a breeze. I'd love to tackle making some tortellini if I had the machine.

I am definitely think that it is well worth it to use. I hope you have fun!

I think you have to roll and re-roll it several times to stretch and thin it out - at least that's what I've seen on 'how to' videos anyway. I'm really looking forward to having a go at it now though!

They're worth it in the sense that they normally charge an arm and a leg for "fresh" pasta it our local grocery stores, and I hate paying that much for something that is really just flour and water (and maybe some egg). If you pick up some ravioli molds, you can certainly make all sorts of home made ravioli with creative fillings. Or make your own pierogi with a simple round mold and a fork.

However they are pretty time consuming as you've noticed, and messy in terms of getting flour everywhere. I haven't personally made home made pasta with one of those machines since the 80's when I used to make it from time to time with my grandmother. She had a simple rack made out of dowel rods for the pasta to hang from (when we were making stuff like fettuccine). We never let the pasta completely dry to what you would get out of a box at the grocery store, and I don't know if that would even work. I'm not sure how they get those pastas so dry like that - I would be concerned about mold or something forming on it in the process. We always cooked ours relatively soon, within a day or so.

The only pasta I've made by hand in recent years were gnocchi and cavatelli, which don't require any special equipment, and they turned out fine.

I love the idea of a rack to hang the pasta on! The more research I've done, the less I feel like drying it out completely - I think it would be much better fresh anyway, and I wouldn't want the risk of mould either.

Thanks for all the info everyone! I'll let you know how I get on. :)
 
Since you have the machine, I'd definitely give it a try! Honestly... I doubt you will find it to be worth the time it takes but what have you got to lose? Give it a try, see how you like it and then figure out if you want to continue doing it or not.

Good luck! :)
 
Make pasta dough with oo flour and leave well covered in the fridge for over the hour ,re knead put through your pasta machine on wide setting ,do not over flour to prevent sticking,reduce the thickness ,it can be a bit awkward,you can make all sorts of raviolis ,lasagna sheets and flat pastas,you can dry it over a clean poke ,I used to make it with my boys all the time when they were younger,and yes you can taste the difference
 
I really dont have any idea about making pasta noodles. I always buy ready made pasta noodles from the supermarket for my dish.
 
Anything that brings you enjoyment is worth the effort. If you like pasta, and especially if you've ever tried fresh pasta, you should definitely invest some time in making your own. Sure, there will be some labor involved, but when you're done and you've enjoyed the fruit of that labor, you'll also have a lot of satisfaction.
 
I can agree with the idea that if it brings you joy it's worth it. However, if it ruins your day why not go with dry pasta? You could always dress it in a way that makes it delicious.
 
I had watched and seen in some video tutorials on you tube or even in cooking shows how to make your own pasta. I know it requires strength in this one but like what they said its worth the effort after you had finished making it. Since you had a pasta maker you can try it anytime you want until you can make it perfect already. We do not have that kind of machine that is why we just buy ready made in the groceries or supermarket if we feel like eating pasta.
 
I made some fresh pasta last Thursday night, its not actually all that difficult to do and its totally worth the effort because home made pasta tastes nothing like the shop bought stuff (even the fresh pasta you can buy). I love pasta of all kinds fresh and dried but I really fancied pappardelle and as we didn't have any in the cupboard I decided to make some. I'd not made any for ages and now I have the pasta roller attachment for my Kitchenaid it didn't take very long at all (I used to have an imperia pasta machine, and that WAS hard work!). Am definitely not going to wait as long again before making some more, and a pasta drying rack is going on my Christmas list!
 
Maybe if I was given a pasta maker but as it stands, it's not worth the effort for me. What's more it would have to be some healthy kind of pasta that's normally quite expensive. Outside of that I am good picking up some from the store.
 
I had attended a demo in a restaurant on how to make pasta. It is actually Chinese noodles but almost the same as pasta with just a variation in ingredients. I was mesmerized by the quick movement of the kneader because he does it with precision particularly the pulling apart of the dough to make it a thin mass and then he would turn it into a ball again. And the final stage was to pull and pull until the dough turns into string-like pieces that is ready for cutting. No, I cannot do that because I would get tired before being cut. But it's a good exercise, I guess.
 
I find that anything hand-made is more delicious probably because there's a lot of craft and hard work that's put into it to make it very ideal. Making your own pasta is fun, it's creative and you're sure to know that what you're eating wan't processed in a factory. I know I'd make my own pasta if I had the time. I like hand-pulled noodles and hand-tossed pizzas because it's a little imperfect but it's also tastier and has more volume and heart to it which is the essence of crafting.
 
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