Homemade pasta with a KitchenAid: should I get the roller on its own, or the set of three attachments (for cutting spaghetti, etc)?

The roller itself is only £40, whereas the set that has the roller plus 2 cutters (one for spaghetti and one for tagliatelle) is £85. On the one hand, I'm thinking it might be worth saving money and using the KitchenAid roller and cutting the pasta by hand. On the other hand, I've never made pasta by hand so am not sure if that will be tricky. I prefer thicker pasta like tagliatelle to spaghetti, so I am imagining it might not be too hard--but I'd love any feedback/advice you can offer! [The catch is that you can buy the roller separately but not the cutters, so I can't easily change my mind and decide I'd like the tagliatelle cutter, too, if I just get the roller now.]

Meghan
  • Posted by: Meghan
  • January 26, 2016
  • 1774 views
  • 10 Comments

10 Comments

Meghan
Meghan January 27, 2016
Thanks, everyone! I'm still torn, but this advice really helps!
 
pierino
pierino January 26, 2016
The KitchenAid rollers work fine. Cutting tagliatelli by hand is incredibly easy just using a sharp chef's knife. Just fold, cut, unfold.
 
MainelyEating
MainelyEating January 26, 2016
I would get the cutters. I bought the roller alone and whilst it's OK to cut the pasta if I'm just making enough for two people for an appetizer, it's a complete pain if I'm making enough for say dinner for 4 people. I *love* the roller and have been using it regularly enough that I'm thinking I may buy it again with the cutter and gift just the roller to a friend. If you're new to making pasta then I'd highly recommend the Flour + Water cookbook.
 
Jenn60
Jenn60 January 26, 2016
This past weekend my youngest (grownup) child and his girlfriend wanted to learn to make pasta. We made tagliatelle with the kitchen aid attachment. They were thrilled with how easy it was and we all enjoyed the great meal that followed.
If I didn't have the tagliatelle cutting attachment we wouldn't have taken the time to cut long strips.
 
witloof
witloof January 26, 2016
I have the KitchenAid roller and it doesn't really cut the pasta very well. I use it for rolling it out and then cut it manually.
 
Nancy
Nancy January 26, 2016
In deciding, I would ask myself what kind of pastas I most like to make and serve.
Once you have it rolled to thinness you prefer, you can hand cut or shape both long and short pastas.
Long by rolling a sheet and cutting it crosswise into strips, which you then unfold and hang dry), ravioli and other filled ones, canneloni by shaping around tubes, lasagna obviously, maltagliati (badly cut) for soup, hand shaped small ones like orrechiette (sp?) etc.
On the other hand, if you really love and want to produce home made versions of spaghetti or fettucini, go for the cutters.
What will you use?
 
Nancy
Nancy January 26, 2016
slip of the pen. spaghetti is a commercial product & not usually makable at home.
 
pierino
pierino January 26, 2016
Don't tell that to an Italian cook. Spaghetti is frequently made at home.
 
Nancy
Nancy January 26, 2016
Pierino, ok - live and learn...
 
702551
702551 January 26, 2016
Hand cut pasta is charming, but labor intensive and time consuming. Knowing my own temperament, I'd probably find it tedious after a while and make pasta less frequently if I didn't have the tagliatelle cutter.

Fortunately, I know myself fairly well and when I bought a pasta machine (I use a hand crank version), I wisely bought one with the dual cutters (spaghetti, tagliatelle) so I don't run into that predicament. Plus, I have the flexibility of doing some of the sheets as machine-cut tagliatelle, maybe some as spaghetti, and maybe one sheet hand-cut.

But amount of flexibility works for my interests and temperament.

You should think carefully about your own interest, patience, temperament, etc. and decide for yourself.
 
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