Stand mixer pasta attachment

16 years ago

I posted this on the KT...I thought about posting this on Cooking but I know you guys will give me your opinions just as well ;o)

I'm hoping some of you can weigh in and help me with a decision. My old Atlas pasta machine has bitten the proverbial dust. We love home made pasta and I don't want to make it without "assistance". I used to make it by hand in a previous life, but at this age and with lessening steam in my engines, it's not gonna happen LOL. I'm deciding between buying another hand crank pasta machine or a pasta attachment for my Viking stand mixer (similar to the Kitchenaid mixer). The attachment makes 6 different types of pasta, which includes a lasagna disc. I would use the lasagna sheet for square ravioli (ravioli are one of our favorite pastas).

Does anyone have a pasta attachment for their stand mixer and if so, do you find it works well? Has anyone used both a hand crank and a mixer attachment, and if so, which one do you like better. A good hand crank pasta maker costs about $50 and the mixer attachment runs around $70.

I make the pasta dough in my stand mixer now so I figured that it would be an easy thing to just take the dough and finish the process using the mixer attachment. If I go with another hand crank machine, there's the extra step and a bit more tedious cleaning. But if the stand mixer pasta attachment doesn't work well, then I'll stick with a hand crank one.

Any thoughts?

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Comments (11)

judiegal6
16 years ago
I've been planning to get one for my KA, my SIL loves hers.
kgwlisa
16 years ago
You can get pasta from somewhere other than a box???
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mrsmarv
Original Author
16 years ago
Yes, Lisa, you can LOL ;o) There's a place in Hopewell, Mario's Bread, that makes and sells fresh bread and pasta. We go their for their bastone loaves and they're absolutely excellent. DH can't make it home without consuming at least 1/4 of a loaf (so he'll always buy 2). Friends had us over for dinner and they had gotten some of the fresh pasta. I have to say it was yummy.
golddust
16 years ago
I have an Atlas and a pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid. I inherited the Kitchen Aid mixer with every possible attachment that fits on. Most have never been out of the box and the mixer must be 30 years old. LOL!

How does an Atlas die?
mrsmarv
Original Author
16 years ago
That would be a number of things that caused its demise...the clamp broke, the handle doesn't stay seated in the gear hole and it constantly wobbles and "misses", and the little "spokes" get jammed...it's those small things that shouldn't be bothersome on their own, but combined are a PITA ;o(
tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM
16 years ago
I bought an atlas after ruling out the attachment for my KA. The main reason I ruled the other out because I thought the height of the attachment was awkward. I have always found cleaning the atlas to be a breeze. For ravioli I roll it into a thin sheet that I fold into half. I also prefer to cut the pasta myself so the different cuts were not a deciding factor for me. I also generally do the pasta dough in my food processor instead of the mixer.
mrsmarv
Original Author
16 years ago
I'm leaning towards replacing the Atlas. I don't need another headache and the Atlas has always worked well for me. Plus, I've been perusing and I can get it for a very reasonable price.

Anyone else like to opine?
User
16 years ago
Wish I had the talent to make our own pasta. I love traditional cooking, make most everything home made even our pizza and spaghetti sauce but I've never had the guts to try and make my own pasta. Is it hard to do?
mrsmarv
Original Author
16 years ago
"We go their for their"

Oy! After reading the posts I discovered this error...I am truly embarrassed. It should have read, "We go there for their..." (hanging her head in shame).

Home made pasta is really very simple and easy and tastes so much better.
tomorrowisanotherday
16 years ago
You get a bye from me mrsmarve, but only since you used the word "opine." LOL!! Truthfully, I missed that mixup--I was too busy trying to convince myself that I needed a pasta attachment for my KA ;)

Do you have to cook the pasta right away, or can you save some for another day? Hmmmm...wondering if it would be worthwhile...
awm03
16 years ago
Would the Viking attachment offer any advantages? Speed? Consistency? Maybe those aren't really advantages. Perhaps you have more control with the manual machine.