A lasting investment

Do you love pasta as much as I do – the shapes, the colors, the flavors and the versatility in use? Then you might want to consider, to buy an Italian Pasta Machine to make your pasta. Different makers are offering manual, semi-manual and fully automated machines. The automated ones knead the dough and produce pasta in different shapes. They look convenient to use, but they need a lot of space and are more fussy about cleaning.

I decided to buy a manual machine, simply because it is easy to maintain and clean, as well as very compact to store. I chose the basic version of the Atlas 150 from the Italian maker Marcato. It is a no fuss, sturdy built of stainless-steel machine and reasonably priced at about CHF 85.

The basic machine comes with rollers for flat pasta sheets and has nine thickness settings to choose from on a pull-out dial; thickness settings range from 0.3 mm to 2.5 mm and an attachment to cut the pasta sheets into thin tagliolini or slightly wider fettuccine. There are additional interchangeable attachments available to make ravioli, spaghetti, and an electric motor if you prefer not to use the crank.

To clean it you only need a brush and a damp cloth. One should not wash it in water as it would damage the machine.

The model comes with a 10-year guarantee which says a lot about the quality of the product and makes it a good investment.