Types of Pasta from your Pasta Maker
April 9, 2009 by pastamaker
Filed under General Information
If you are avid fan of Italian food and like to dabble in the kitchen then a pasta maker can be a fabulous toy. Without one pasta can just be plain impossible to get right, but with one making fresh pasta from scratch suddenly becomes quite easy. Don’t be fooled into thinking that all pasta makers are the same however, as not all of them will allow you to make a full range of different types of pasta. This is a quick reference guide to the different types of pasta that pasta machines may have listed in their product descriptions so that you can see what you will be able to make with your new pasta maker.
Spaghetti
Spaghetti is one of the three types of pasta which all machines will make. These are long thin tubes which are used in Italian favourites such as spaghetti Bolognese and spaghetti carbonara. Lots of pasta makers will also have settings to let you choose how thin or fat you want your spaghetti strands.
Lasagne
The second type of pasta which all pasta makers are able to produce is lasagne. These are the large flat sheets of pasta which are used in the over-baked dish lasagne al forno. Although this may seem quite simple to make without the help of a pasta maker, the appliance will actually let you roll them much thinner than you would easily be able to do manually. This lets them cook quicker and you can produce a dish with many more layers of pasta and meat.
Fettucini or Tagliatelle
Fettucini are long ribbons of pasta which are known as tagliatelle outside of Rome. These are also most commonly found in carbonara dishes or fetuccini alfredo. These are the other pasta which virtually all pasta makers are equipped for.
Linguine
Linguine, which translates to English as ‘little tongues’ are like a flattened spaghetti. These are commonly used in the Campania region of Italy and are the pasta of choice in many seafood dishes. If your pasta maker offers fettucini then it is quite likely that it will also be possible to make linguine.
Ravioli
My personal favourite, ravioli are the small parcels of pasta which have a filling inside, which is most often some type of cheese or meat, but can be almost anything you fancy. Choosing a pasta maker which can also make ravioli will let you get a lot more choice in terms of the meals you can prepare with your pasta maker. Ravioli are a very fiddly pasta to make manually and having this feature on your pasta machine will no doubt save a lot of time and irritation!
Macaroni
Macaroni, or maccheroni, is popular in the US in the dish macaroni cheese. These are the small tubes of pasta which are curved around to give a shape which is kind of like half a tyre. Being able to make macaroni with your pasta maker may be a great bonus if you have kids as they usually find it much easier to eat than messy spaghetti.
Other Shapes
Some of the fancier makers may also let you make many more shapes and styles of pasta, although if you can make each of the different types described here then you will be able to use these in a diverse range of Italian cuisine. Any extra shapes that you can make may be a bonus but are not necessary to make the pasta maker a worthwhile investment for your kitchen.
Making Pasta using your Pasta Maker - 3 Top Tips
April 9, 2009 by pastamaker
Filed under General Information, Pasta Makers
If you are anything like me, I am sure that you just love Italian food. And what better way to get that authentic taste of Italy then by making your own fresh pasta. Although this can be a little bit fiddly, and the results somewhat hit-and-miss, the whole process is made much easier if you use a pasta machine. Good pasta makers are designed to still give you full control over the type of pasta which you create, but the pasta machine takes most of the hassle out. Most pasta machines which are available on the market will not only help you to roll out pasta, but will also cut it into spaghetti, fettuccini, or other various shapes for you. Here I am going to give you some of my top tips to help you get great-tasting pasta out of your pasta maker every time.
Thickness of the Pasta
Rolling pasta with a pasta machine allows you to make the dough much lighter than if you were to do this by hand. This makes it easier for the pasta to absorb juices and sauces, which will add to the flavour of the dish. In order to be able to get the past through your pasta maker several times, you need to make sure you cut only small pieces of dough. You should feed the pasta through the pasta maker several times until it is paper-thin. This will not only make better tasting pasta, but will also mean that it takes far less time to cook. One of the more important features which you need to look for when looking at buying pasta machines is that it has a good range of settings for the thickness, or you may not be able to get the thickness you want.
Stopping the Dough from Sticking
One of the most frustrating things when you use a pasta machine can be when the dough sticks. To stop this from happening, make sure you sprinkle some flour on the pasta maker as well as the dough before you begin. When you buy a pasta machine it may be better to buy an electric pasta maker. As well as making the whole process a little less labour intensive, the speed of the rolling on the electric pasta machines makes it less likely that the dough sticks than on manual ones. In addition, buying a pasta machine with more than one speed may help you to better control the rolling process - if the dough is a little too sticky then going either too slow or too fast will make your pasta fall apart!
Getting Nice Even Pasta Strands
Once you have finished rolling the pasta, you should leave it to stand for about 10 minutes before you put it into the cutting section of the pasta maker. This will help to stop it from sticking, and will also help to prevent clumping, which will mean that you get nice even pasta strands that will cook like a dream. If you make sure that you buy a pasta maker with different attachments this will also mean that you can get all kinds of different shaped pasta out of the machine.