 |
| Author | Post |
|---|
twest
Member
| Joined: | Sun Oct 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 3 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 30th, 2006 03:33 am |
|
Has anyone used one before? Do they work well? It sounds so simple to make your own pasta, just pour ingredients in and turn it on and then it will extrude out the pasta which is ready to be cooked in half the time. It costs 150 so before I spend the money just wanting to know if anyone has one or has used one and what they think. Please help. I didn't know where else to put this question since there wasn't anymore room under equipment. 
|
Gigmaster
Member
|
Posted: Mon Mar 5th, 2007 07:07 am |
|
This is just my personal opinion as a chef. I am not familiar with the particular machine you are describing, but I have had several types in the past. I have never been happy with the finished product from these machines.
Making pasta (as is other culinary techniques) is not really a science, but a highly refined art. It is not just a collection of ingredients that can be thrown together and miraculously turn into something beautiful.
I make my pasta dough by hand, and use a hand-cranked Marcato pasta press,made in Italy. I've had it for over 20 years and it makes perfect pasta everytime. Check out my postings under recipes for the proper technique to create genuine old-world style pasta.
Again, I am not familiar with your particular machine. It may work. If you decide to get it, I wish you the best of luck. Fresh, authentic classic pasta is something everyone should experience at least once in thier lives.
Bon Appetit!
|
QuestionMark
Member
|
Posted: Wed May 28th, 2008 07:00 pm |
|
I recently bought the Lello 2200 PastaMaster and made my first batch of pasta last weekend. After some trial and error, my spaghetti turned out great. I used 1/2 freshly milled Durum wheat and 1/2 all purpose flour even though the manual strongly suggested using 100% all purpose flour for your first batch. Although their instructions are very specific, it was a bit tricky for me to find the right consistency for the dough. It seemed a bit wet to me at first, so I kept adding flour a TBS at a time until it looked right to me. My first attempt at extruding resulted in lots of crumbs at the exit port, but no pasta. So, I added a fair amount of water a tsp at a time until it looked too wet, then added some more flour, etc. I kept at this until my family said they were starving (I probably let it knead for close to an hour while adjusting the consistency), and then my second extrusion attempt produced perfect spaghetti. I think it may be harder to determine the right consistency using whole-grain flour, but at least I know what to look for in the next batch.
I made a 1 lb. batch of spaghetti, and it was nearly twice as much as we needed for a family of two adults and two teenage girls. The machine can make up to 2 lb. of pasta, which would be enough to feed a small crowd. I need to figure out how to make batches smaller than 1 lb., but the special measuring cup that comes with it only goes down to 1 lb recipes.
Clean-up was very easy -- just disassemble and leave the parts out to dry. The dried pasta falls off easily by tapping the parts on the countertop.
Assuming I can get the hang of achieving the right dough consistency in less time, I'll be very pleased with this purchase. All of my family members thought the fresh pasta tasted a lot better than store-bought, and of course, if it's made with freshly milled flour, it's better for you too. I'll be trying it again this weekend - this time, I'm making Fettuccine!
|
QuestionMark
Member
|
Posted: Mon Jun 23rd, 2008 03:05 pm |
|
Okay, so I've now made two more batches of pasta with the Lello, Fettuccine and Ziti. Both turned out great. I figured out how to make smaller 1/2 lb batches of pasta by weighing the flour on a digital scale and marking the water/egg measuring cup for a 1/2 lb batch. Last night, I made a 1.5 lb batch of Ziti, and I froze half of it for later use -- we'll see how that turns out.
I have determined, however, that when using 1/2 (or a bit more) freshly milled Durum wheat in the recipe, the dough never seems to achieve the consistency they call for in the instructions: "...moist pieces that are about the size of shelled walnut halves." My dough seems to stay in large blobs, which they claim is too moist. If I add flour, it becomes crumbly, but never forms into smaller moist pieces. Still, it seems to extrude into fine pasta, and doesn't stick together which they say is the outcome if it's too moist. So, I'm not going to worry about it. On the batch last night, I didn't have to add any water or flour -- the dough was perfect with the original measurements.
Perhaps I'd see "walnuts" if I used 100% all-purpose flour, but that would defeat the purpose of homemade pasta for me. Next time, I'm going to try 100% freshly milled flour and see what happens.
All in all, I'm very pleased with the Lello 2200 PastaMaster. I recommend it to anyone looking for homemade pasta with less effort and time than the traditional hand kneading, rolling, and cutting.
|
Current time is 05:14 am | |
|
|
|
|
