The Pasta Machine – What Joy

For anyone who enjoys eating, there’s nothing like the taste of something freshly prepared. If you doubt that’s true then why do all of our restaurant leftovers never seem to match up to the original dish? Fresh ingredients mixed together in a smart recipe always satisfy.  And just as that’s true for fruits, vegetables, and meats, it’s also true for prepared or processed items like pasta.

But in order to prepare fresh pasta properly you either need a little bit of time and patience or you need a little help. Kneading wheat dough into a noodle shape is a lengthy process by hand. That’s where a pasta machine comes in so handy in the kitchen. Even if it’s an old style hand-cranked model like Grandma used to use, pasta machines save you time and produce excellent results.

Noodles of dough, whether made from breadfruit or wheat flour, have adorned dinner tables of just about every culture on Earth throughout recorded history. And while the origins of pasta are cloudy at best, it’s safe to say that in today’s world, pasta is enjoyed just about everywhere.

In the old, old days, creating pasta from dough meant kneading the dough with both strength and endurance. One needed strength because dough from wheat (especially durum wheat) was difficult to knead. And endurance came in handy because it could take quite a while to finish the job properly and produce just the right pasta shape

In the late 1700’s the first pasta machines began to spring up. They mechanically thinned, formed, and cut the dough into the classic shapes we now know and love. Even Thomas Jefferson was known to use a pasta machine. In fact, he drew up his own plans for his own model.

The key to using a pasta machine to turn out the best noodley deliciousness is in the dough preparation. You don’t have to have the most outlandish ingredients or a master chef’s credentials; you just have to acquire a “feel” for the dough. And that can happen in no time.

There are many recipes to fall back on but they mostly boil down to mixing egg, flour, and a tiny bit of water together. A food processor works wonders in this part of the preparation but it can also be done in a bowl or on the preparation table surface as well. When mixed, the dough should feel not too moist and not too dry. What that ends up being like depends on the freshness of your ingredients and the humidity, temperature, and altitude of your kitchen.

Once the dough is thoroughly mixed, you take it and massage it, and pound it, and squeeze it, and smoosh it with your hands, knuckles, and fingers until it transforms from rough to almost smooth. Then you let it rest for 15 to 30 minutes. And you rest too.

When you’re both rested, pull out the pasta machine and a lump of dough. Flatten out the dough and feed it through the machine’s rollers (set at their widest separation). Once through, fold the dough once (like you’d fold a towel length wise in half) and feed it through the machine again – but this time set the rollers down one notch so they’re a touch narrower. Keep repeating this until the dough gets to the thickness and length you think you like. Then, using the cutting section or attachment of the pasta maker machine, feed the thinned dough through to create the finished product. 

There are at least two very good reasons for owning a pasta machine. The first is obvious – for the flavor! Fresh always tastes way better than store-bought and always will. There’s no fooling the taste buds when you try to compare fresh pasta with the dried-and-shipped-in-a-box variety.

A second reason comes into play if you enjoy cooking. Preparing and serving your own pasta makes you feel much closer to the food and to your guests or family. You feel like more of “you” goes into the meal and therefore you get more satisfaction out of the enjoyment everyone experiences with your creations. A pasta maker will also take a little bit of the work out of the preparation and that makes the cooking more fun too.

There are lots of pasta makers on the market. They come in lots of sizes and price ranges. You can buy small machines that are very inexpensive all the way up to large, industrial machines that will cost you an arm and a leg. What you pay isn’t nearly as important as what you get. To have a great pasta making (and eating) experience you should look for these features in your pasta machine.

• A good pasta machine should be stoutly made. It should feel like it can last years if not a generation or two. 
• A good pasta machine should come with a guarantee of at least one year – two or three would be even better.
• A good pasta machine should be versatile and accept different attachments for different pasta shapes.
• A good pasta machine should come with several thickness settings for your dough and ultimately noodles.

…Buon Appetito

If you’ve ever thought about writing on the Web, there’s no easier place to do it than on Hubpages.

• Join for free and it only takes a minute
• Write on just about anything you want and be published immediately
• You can even make a buck or two while you’re doing it
  
  

So take the plunge, you literally have nothing to lose...

                         Click Here to Join Hubpages Today