Making Pasta Machines Work - Cooks Illustrated

Published November 1, 1995.

Tested recipes can eliminate the frustrating trial and error most cooks experience with these fickle electric machines.

The Problem

The Goal

The Solution

Keep these points in mind as you work with an electric pasta machine: Add a little oil to egg pasta to increase its elasticity. Err on the dry side. More liquid can always be added, but a wet dough is a lost cause. Kneading hydrates the dough, so always mix well before adding more liquid. Do not extrude until the dough forms soft, pea-sized crumbs. Soak the die in hot water to facilitate extrusion. Discard the first inch or two of extruded dough. Set the pasta aside for at least thirty minutes before cooking to relax the gluten. Strand pastas are your best bet.

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America’s Test Kitchen is a 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of Boston. It is the home of Cook’s Country and Cook’s Illustrated magazines and is the workday destination for more than three dozen test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes until we understand how and why they work and arrive at the best version. We also test kitchen equipment and supermarket ingredients in search of brands that offer the best value and performance. You can watch us work by tuning in to America’s Test Kitchen (www.americastestkitchen.com) on public television.