by Christopher Jones
Many will argue that once you make pasta from scratch, you will never want to go back to making pasta that comes out of a box ever again. The thing about making pasta from scratch is that there it takes a lot more effort than just taking pasta out of a box and placing it in boiling water for a few minutes.
Making pasta from scratch requires a lot of things, but one of the best things that it requires the most is a pasta extruder. Making pasta from scratch is made much easier with the right pasta extruder in your possession.
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Before exploring the best pasta extruders, it is a good idea to know what a pasta extruder is and what they do. Understand that pasta is a macaroni product that is made from a special kind of dough. Unlike other kinds of dough, the dough that is used for pasta needs to be rolled out and flattened this way it can be shaped into the kind of pasta that you need.
A pasta extruder will assist you in this process. Not only does it roll out dough, it will also cut dough for you which will save a lot of time when making pasta from scratch.
The best pasta extruders contain different kinds of settings that will allow you to make different kinds of pasta and this is what you should be looking for in a pasta extruder. The following pasta extruders have proved themselves valuable and you will not go wrong with any of them.
As convenient as pasta extruders are, there are a few ways that they can be made even more convenient. This is especially true if you are tasked with rolling sheets of dough that require you to adjust thickness levels on the fly. It can be difficult to find pasta extruders that are able to do this.
One thing that makes Marcato's Atlas stand out in a good way among other pasta extruders is its impressive versatility when it comes to thickness levels. The Atlas is able to roll sheets of dough that are as thin as 0.6 millimeters to as thick as 4.8 millimeters. This speaks to its versatility and it will be a challenge to find other pasta extruders that are this versatile.
Because of its simplistic design and very organized cutting mechanism, the Atlas is also easy to clean. This is a breath of fresh air because most other pasta extruders are not very easy to clean, usually requiring you to go into very small spaces in order to clean. The only thing you need to do to clean the Atlas is wipe around the dough feeding reservoir with a cloth or dry brush.
You'll probably need to look elsewhere if you are looking for a pasta extruder that is able to roll out high volumes of dough. The Atlas is quite small and can only roll dough that is 150 millimeters wide or less, which makes it more suitable for personal use more than for a restaurant or other kitchens that demand more volume from a pasta extruder.
As useful as pasta extruders are, it can be difficult to find one that can make a lot of pasta. Most extruders are able to do everything for you when it comes to making pasta, but if you are tasked with making a lot of pasta, you'll need to spend a lot of time.
You will not need to spend a lot of time with the Pasta maker plus, by Philips. Being able to make nearly half a pound of pasta in as short as ten minutes, you will not need to spend a lot of time to make the pasta you need when you are using it. Go with the pasta maker plus if you are tasked with making a lot of pasta.
Another nice thing about the pasta maker plus is that you can make different kinds of pasta with it. You can make spaghetti, fettucini, penne, lasagna, and dumpling types of pasta with it, which is very rare to see in pasta extruders, which can usually only make spaghetti.
There are a couple of things that you should watch out for with the pasta maker plus. First, you'll spend a lot more time cleaning it than most other pasta extruders. Because it can make four different types of pasta, you'll need to clean each shaping accessory as you use them, and this can be inconvenient.
How the pasta maker plus processes dough can also make it difficult to clean. While it will roll dough for you, you'll need to clean the inside of it every time you do this and this can be very time consuming even if it is dishwasher safe.
The trouble with most pasta extruders is that they are just another gadget that you need to have in your kitchen. If you have other kitchen gadgets and appliances in your possession, you know that one more appliance means that you now have one more thing that you need to look after.
All things considered, you could probably get just as much value attaching a pasta extruder to another appliance if the situation allows for it. KitchenAid's pasta extruder is unique in that it attaches to your KitchenAid mixer. This makes it very convenient in that it is not a stand alone appliance, yet it does anything that any other pasta extruder can.
This does not take away from how versatile KitchenAid's extruder is, either. It contains six different plates that make six different kinds of pasta, which is something that isn't seen in most standalone pasta extruders, let alone ones that are attachments for stand mixers.
Of course, you'll need a KitchenAid mixer in order to use their pasta extruder. This is one thing about it that makes it a little worse than other pasta extruders. It also contains very small parts. These are parts that are mostly not dishwasher safe, meaning you will need to clean them by hand.
Pasta extruders that can attach to a stand mixer are extremely convenient. They aren't standalone appliances which means they will not crowd your kitchen, and you can use it alongside your stand mixer when necessary. If you possess a stand mixer but still need a pasta extruder, you'll get a lot out of extruders that attach to stand mixers.
The only thing about these kinds of pasta extruders is that most of them can just make fine noodles. The standalone pasta extruders have most of the attachment extruders beat when it comes to making different kinds of pasta.
Antree's extruder attachment solves this issue by allowing you to manufacture two other kinds of noodles other than fine noodles: Rough noodles and facets. This gives you a lot more options than nearly all other pasta extruder attachments. It even beats some of the standalone ones. It also contains eight different gears, giving you even more options.
Because you get so many options with Antree's extruder, you will also need to clean the vast amount of blades that it comes with. While you can do this fairly easily, it is still something that you will need to deal with as opposed to other pasta extruders.
It can be difficult to find a pasta extruder that gives you a lot of options when it comes to making pasta. While most pasta extruders do give you a handful of options, a good amount of them do not contain the amount of options that you might need if you are tasked to serve all kinds of pasta to a big crowd.
Shule's pasta maker has everything you need when it comes to options. You can use it to make pasta dough that is as thin as 0.5 millimeters and as thick as 3 millimeters. It also comes with attachments that will allow you to greatly alter the width of your pasta anywhere from 1.5 millimeters to 6.6 millimeters. You don't get these kinds of options with other pasta extruders.
However, there are a few things that you should be aware of when it comes to Shule's pasta maker. First, it is electric. This means that it is not dishwasher safe. While you can clean most of its parts with a dry soft brush or cloth, sometimes this is not enough and you'll need to hand wash these parts and that can take some time.
The fact that Shule's pasta maker has multiple parts is also something you need to watch for. Most pasta makers and extruders contain one or two parts and that is all, but because it has so many width and thickness options, Shule's pasta maker contains different parts and attachments. This is something that you will need to deal with should you choose to use it for your pasta making needs.
There are a few advantages to having a pasta extruder compared to not having one. If you are even remotely interested in making pasta from scratch, you should pay attention to these advantages.
Pasta extruders solve a critical problem when it comes to making pasta. This problem is cutting and forming pasta.
If you try to do this by yourself, it will take a very long time. Cutting and forming pasta dough by yourself is one of the most time consuming activities that you can ever undertake. You will spend hours doing this where a pasta extruder will do it in minutes.
Cutting and forming pasta on your own requires you to use very sharp tools, and these tools can and will cut you. Pasta extruders will make the process of making pasta from scratch much more safe. It will do all the cutting work for you and it will prevent a lot of injuries that you might have sustained if you cut the pasta yourself.
If you are making a spiral type of pasta with your hands, good luck making each piece look the same; it will never happen. However, something like this will happen if you use a pasta extruder.
There are certain pasta extruders that specialize in making spiral design pastas. Be on the lookout for them if you need to make spiral design pasta.
As long as it can take to make pasta by hand with tools, it can take even longer to clean up after yourself. This problem is severely diminished when you use a pasta extruder and it will save you a significant amount of time.
Although some pasta extruders contain parts that need to be cleaned individually, that is still highly preferable to cleaning after yourself if you are cutting and forming pasta by hand.
No pasta extruder does the exact same thing, and in order to possess one that is right for you, you will need to consider a few things. Fail to consider these, and you might be in possession of a pasta extruder that you might not be able to use to its fullest.
This is the first consideration that you should make and it is probably the most important. Different pasta extruders make different kinds of pasta and you need to be aware of this. You need to know exactly what kind of pasta you need to make and find a pasta extruder that matches up to this.
The second consideration involves how much pasta you need to make. Some pasta extruders are small and do not make a lot of pasta but they have a lot of options when it comes to the kinds of pasta they can make. Some of them can make a lot of pasta, but can only make 1 or 2 types of pasta. You should definitely be aware of this.
Some pasta extruders can be connected to a mixer to make small amounts of pasta, but nearly any given kind of pasta. If you are more concerned with making different types of pasta rather than a lot of pasta, you should consider a pasta extruder that has this design.
Some pasta extruders can make a lot of pasta, but they are limited in the size of the noodles that they can make. On the other hand, some of them have a lot of size options in the noodles they can make but don't have a lot of volume options. You should know which kind suits you better when looking for a pasta extruder.
Weston Traditional Style Pasta Machine, 6", Tuscan Red - Walmart Link
MARCATO Atlas 150 Pasta Machine, Made in Italy, Includes Cutter, Hand Crank, and - Walmart Link
Pasta Maker Deluxe Set 5 Piece Steel Machine with Spaghetti Fettuccini Roller, Angel - Walmart Link
Imperia Pasta Maker Machine - Heavy Duty Steel Construction w Easy Lock Dial and Wood - Walmart Link
Atlas Marcato Multipast Pasta Machine Set - Walmart Link
Pasta Maker Machine (177) By Cucina Pro - Heavy Duty Steel Construction - with Fettucine - Walmart Link
Imperia Ipasta Deluxe Limited Edition Pasta Machine - Walmart Link
MARCATO 8356 Atlas Ampia Pasta Machine, Made In Italy, Chrome Plated Steel, Silver, - Walmart Link
Secura Electric Coffee Grinder & Spice Grinder with 2 Stainless-Steel Blades Removable - Walmart Link
VonShef Pasta Maker, 3 in 1 Pasta Machine Stainless Steel, Pasta Roller with 3 Cut Press - Walmart Link
Imperia Angel Hair Pasta Machine Attachment - Walmart Link
Marcato Pappardelle Cutter Attachment, Made in Italy, Works with Atlas 150 Pasta Machine, - Walmart Link
Weston 01-0204 Traditional Pasta Machine Flat Linguini Cutter Attachment, Silver - Walmart Link
KitchenAid KSMPRA Pasta Roller & Cutter Attachment Set, Pack of 1, Silver - Walmart Link
Philips Pasta and Noodle Maker Plus, Large, HR2375/06 - Walmart Link
Pasta Maker Machine Hand Crank - Roller Cutter Noodle Makers Best for Homemade Noodles - Walmart Link
OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Tabletop Spiralizer with StrongHold Suction - Walmart Link
Weston Traditional Style Pasta Machine, 6", Tuscan Red - eBay Link
MARCATO Atlas 150 Pasta Machine, Made in Italy, Includes Cutter, Hand Crank, and - eBay Link
Pasta Maker Deluxe Set 5 Piece Steel Machine with Spaghetti Fettuccini Roller, Angel - eBay Link
Imperia Pasta Maker Machine - Heavy Duty Steel Construction w Easy Lock Dial and Wood - eBay Link
Atlas Marcato Multipast Pasta Machine Set - eBay Link
Pasta Maker Machine (177) By Cucina Pro - Heavy Duty Steel Construction - with Fettucine - eBay Link
Imperia Ipasta Deluxe Limited Edition Pasta Machine - eBay Link
MARCATO 8356 Atlas Ampia Pasta Machine, Made In Italy, Chrome Plated Steel, Silver, - eBay Link
Secura Electric Coffee Grinder & Spice Grinder with 2 Stainless-Steel Blades Removable - eBay Link
VonShef Pasta Maker, 3 in 1 Pasta Machine Stainless Steel, Pasta Roller with 3 Cut Press - eBay Link
Imperia Angel Hair Pasta Machine Attachment - eBay Link
Marcato Pappardelle Cutter Attachment, Made in Italy, Works with Atlas 150 Pasta Machine, - eBay Link
Weston 01-0204 Traditional Pasta Machine Flat Linguini Cutter Attachment, Silver - eBay Link
KitchenAid KSMPRA Pasta Roller & Cutter Attachment Set, Pack of 1, Silver - eBay Link
Philips Pasta and Noodle Maker Plus, Large, HR2375/06 - eBay Link
Pasta Maker Machine Hand Crank - Roller Cutter Noodle Makers Best for Homemade Noodles - eBay Link
OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Tabletop Spiralizer with StrongHold Suction - eBay Link
As better as pasta from scratch is compared to pasta that comes in a box is, it does take some time, effort and talent to make pasta from scratch. However, it does not need to be that way and we have pasta extruders to thank for that. If you are interested in making pasta from scratch, do all you can to get your hands on the right pasta extruder for you. It will make a difference.
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About Christopher Jones
Chris is a true globetrotter. He has been to many destinations and tried different types of food from all over the world, yet he still loves finding new places and tasting their specialties. Chris has always had an entrepreneurial spirit and so he decided to go back to school at age 24 for his MBA at University of San Francisco so that he could have a better understanding of business strategy in order to start his own company. His favorite motto is “how can one live well, travel well, and work well without having good food every time?”
Be with Chris: 
Kitchen Goodness
