CucinaPro 177 Pasta Fresh Pasta Machine
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Our Price: $29.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $26.69 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of CucinaPro 177 Pasta Fresh Pasta Machine
Customer Review: Takes some practice but it's all worth it!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know why I decided I wanted this pasta maker, but sometime last December, I did, and I asked my mother for it for Christmas. And I'm sure glad she bought it because this pasta maker rocks! It's a little tricky to get the hang of at first, and it helps to get the dough just right (my first batch had too much flour and wouldn't roll out). A touch of olive oil seems to help. Once the dough is ready, rolling it out is a snap. The first few passes through the machine are the trickiest, and it helps if someone holds the machine down (especially if you can't clamp it down, like me). The best thing about using the machine is that it works the pasta as it rolls it (you should send it through the highest setting several times and fold the resulting strip back into itself, in thirds, then roll it again), so even if your dough starts out sub-par, by the time you reach the second-lowest setting, it looks professional. (I don't recommend the lowest setting, it rolls too thin and the dough begins to tear.)
It comes with two cutting attachments, one which produces thin angel-hair/spaghetti-like noodles, and a thicker one which is closer to linguini. Both produce delicious pasta. If you're looking to make pasta from scratch, I highly recommend this pasta maker. I've never been disappointed by the results.
Customer Review: Clarifiying the clarification review below....
Summary: 1 Stars
This machine is difficult to use because it is a cheaply machined device. The chrome *flakes* off and the unit *rusts*. To prevent the rusting, the manufacturers have brilliantly solved the problem by heaping gobs of machine oil all over the rollers. Our astute reviewer has mentioned that you don't clean the rollers and that this is perfectly sanitary. Hmmm, last time I heard, if you leave egg products out in the open, you risk infestations of bacteria. Since eggs are an ingredient of pasta, well, I'm sure you get the point. I don't know about you, but leaving the dough in between the rollers sounds a little unsanitary. But oh, I guess germs don't grow in dough that's left out in the open for days and days. Gee, I wonder if the local health inspectors know about this magical immunity of pasta dough?
The solution to the problem of having the dough stick everywhere has nothing to do with the moisture content as much as it has to do with the rollers and cutters being of inferior construction. There are no redeeming qualities to this pasta maker except that it is a nice to look at...until it starts to rust. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that some people will work the machine to death in order to brag about making their very own pasta. Food snobbery lives.
Customer Review: this is the one you want
Summary: 5 Stars
Pasta fads and attachments will come and go, but a few simple truths remain:-1 It's a pain to make your own pasta.
-2 This is the classic and the best.
This is the most straightforward way to make your own pasta, and the wisest approach to doing it. Because the incredibly specialized task of making pasta will not likely be something you do every day, it's important to have something you can pack away. The cranking is not difficult and you can use this tool on the surface that best suits the task--rather than wherever there's a free outlet.
Esecially if you're not sure you're going to work this into your routine, this economical option will give you the best anyone can hope for in terms of results. Consider, too, that making pasta with an electric machine will still require you to engage with the process from ingredients to the drying rack--OH! Get a drying rack. If you're going to have to participate in the making of the pasta anyway, you might as well be cranking--and this will give you the ultimate in control over the product as you get fancier.
Be careful to clean it properly, dry it well, and you'll have a long relationship with this product.
Customer Review: A terrible pasta machine.
Summary: 1 Stars
I didn't like this pasta machine at all. Although some people have given the "steps to successful pasta making" in this forum, they fail to state that these steps are not only time consuming, but a very, very messy affair. The unit itself is poorly made with a lot of machine oil all over the rollers that never seems to come off. (Yuck!) The clamping device does not hold a table edge tightly which means as you crank the dough out, the device constantly slips and moves around. The quality of the made pasta is mediocre. The clean-up is nearly impossible to do because you cannot use water on the machine (it will rust), so what you are left with is a lot of flour that gets stuck in the machine. Not very sanitary at all! The Villaware Pasta machine is a dismal piece of kitchen hardware. You may be saving some dollars in buying this machine, but you will lose the savings due to time wasted and the frustration in trying to getting it to work. The cutting rollers do not separate the strands properly and you are left with clumps of noodles instead of separate pieces. I would not advise anyone to purchase this item. I give it zero stars.Customer Review: Takes some getting used to
Summary: 4 Stars
This pasta machine is a smaller version of ones used at professional restaurants, and with some practice, works well in turning out delicious homemade pasta. The key here is "with some practice". I recently used the machine for the first time. I sympathize with the negative reviewers since the first batch was lumpy, tore easily, made a huge mess, and in general was a disaster. But in the second batch I sprinkled flour on the pasta in between rolls, was more careful with shaping the pasta to fit the machine, and enlisted an aide to pull the pasta as it was going through the rollers/cutters, which helped tremendously but the result still wasn't that good. The third batch I further refined the technique, which resulted in perfect pasta.
I agree that the machine is difficult to clean, but if the pasta goes through properly it's not that dirty and the excess flour can be wiped off with a dry towel. Using the Imperia requires some patience and trial-and-error, but if you persevere the reward is pasta which is much tastier and more flexible than store-bought.