Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I got the opportunity to test this attachment out for KitchenAid and I learned a lot from the experience. This attachment makes pasta making relatively easy and is well built, (made in Italy). I found making pasta to be, while challenging at first, pretty straightforward. My first impression when I received the attachment how well built it is. The pasta press, (another name for this attachment), has six different plates for making pasta. (The plates are, Spaghetti, Rigatoni, Fusilli, Bucatini and two different sizes of Macaroni). The plates come apart for cleaning, (something I learned when cleaning it after one of my times making pasta). There is also a cleaning brush, multi-tool for pushing and taking apart the pasta press at the bottom, a case for the plates (stores the other five plates, while one plate is installed in the pasta press), and the instructions.
The Pasta Press is made of heavy duty plastic and comes apart easily for cleaning (except when you have pasta that you just made, and that's where the wrench comes in). The working parts consist of:
1). The Press Plate, which the pasta dough presses through with the help of the mixer,
2). The auger, which feeds the dough to the pasta plate, and is driven by the mixer hub. This attaches to the drive with a key at the end of the auger shaft.,
3). The cutter, which cuts the pasta off at the desired length.,
4). The housing, which houses the operating parts., and:
5). All the hub parts to drive the whole operation.
All the parts are of pretty high quality, though the pusher is not as good as I would like it to be. Sometimes the dough backs up out of the press and you have to push it back down. I would also like the pusher to be made out of wood, rather than plastic like it is now. I understand that KA needs to make money by cutting costs, but I would like to see less plastic used. The parts are pretty high quality now, though.
THE OPERATION:
The press operates by forcing pasta dough into different shapes, (it's an extruder, but KA calls it the pasta press, but they are the same thing.) The shapes are tube type for the most part, (except for the Fusilli), and there's not an option for flat pasta with this attachment. I would like to see different shapes other than truly tube shapes. I would like to see shells and other cool shapes for different dishes, though there seems not to be any plans for that now.
The press comes fully put together and ready to use, though, most likely, you'll want to change shapes to make the pasta you want. To do that, you'll need to unscrew the bottom part holding the press plate in place, and take the plate out of the bottom. This can be done pretty easily out of the box and likely doesn't need the multi tool. This can be rather difficult with dough in the threads, though, so the tool is necessary and takes care of it rather well and quickly. You'll need a lot of elbow grease, so this may not be for people with limited strength in their hands.
Attach the press to the hub and tighten down the screw, and you're good to go. The mixer has to be set to different speeds to get the pasta to extrude, though you'll want to go a little slower than the instructions recommend to keep up with the process.
Cleanup is pretty easy and the plates come apart with the tip of a knife. I find that running my plates through the dishwasher makes the process easier when you get the dough off the plate parts. put the plate back together and you're good to go.
In conclusion, I like this attachment for the most part, but there are some things that could be improved. I really like this attachment, but, like most things, can be better.
PROS:
Well built in Italy
Makes pasta easier to produce
Can be used with any flour combo and eggless if you chooseCONS:
Hard to take apart when cleaning after making pasta for some
Parts could be made of anything but plastic for the price
Expensive for some.DISCLOSURE:
I was not paid to test this for KA, other than I got the press for free. I am in NO way affiliated with KA.
Vernon
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KitchenAid KPEXTA Stand-Mixer Pasta-Extruder AttachmentDesigned for use with a KitchenAid stand mixer (sold separately), this pasta-extruder attachment offers a fun and authentic way to enjoy traditional Italian cuisine at home. The durable plastic unit attaches easily to the mixer's hub, and its six included pasta plates allow for quickly creating a variety of delicious homemade pastas, including spaghetti, bucatini, fusili, rigatoni, and large or small macaroni. To use, simply position the desired plate and begin feeding balls of dough through the hopper, using the built-in wire cutter to create custom-length noodles. The unit comes with a cleaning brush, auger, pasta ring, and combo tool with a flat end for pushing dough into the press, as well as a wrench to loosen the pasta ring and a hook for removing the auger from the casing. In addition, the pasta plates fit neatly into the included case, which snaps conveniently onto the pasta-extruder attachment for easy storage between uses. The auger, pasta ring, and combo tool can be safely washed in the dishwasher; hand-wash other pieces for best results. Accompanied by authentic Italian pasta recipes, the pasta-extruder attachment measures approximately 5-1/2 by 5-3/5 by 8 inches.
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