Review: Cuisinart Pasta Attachment

Buzza loves pasta, lots and lots of pasta, any kind of pasta. I love pasta, lots and lots of pasta, many different types of pasta.

I decided to get the pasta attachment over a pasta machine because of the extruder option that would allow me to make many different pasta shapes. Variety is the spice of life, this girl likes variety and Buzza loves penne.

On my first try, I kept it simple and made linguine. It was just ok. The texture wasn't silky, like I had expected. The panels of the linguine even had an uneven texture, probably due to the force of the extruder. Chalk it up to my amateur status, I gave this device another try.

Round two, penne rigate, troubles persist. Here's what I didn't like about the attachment.

1. It is hard to make a long strand of pasta, unless you have four hands. One, to push the dough in. One, to hold the dough as it comes out. One to separate the strands, to prevent them from sticking to each other. One to hold the end of the line, to keep it from falling on the kitchen counter and tangling onto itself.

2. The pasta strands stick together as soon as they come out of the extruder. Very annoying.

3. You can't select the thickness of your pasta.

4. The end all: The pasta collapsed in the middle (see picture below), so it was no longer a tube. The result after cooking, was a very thick pasta that was slightly raw on the inside. Gross!

I ended up returning this attachment and buying a hand crank pasta machine. Although I'm limited to only flat and hand cut pastas, this machine allows you to work the dough and texture, by folding it over itself. The result is also silkier, flatter and more even. You also can create a large lasagna sheet, from which you can cut shapes to fill. Think tortellini, ravioli, agnolotti.

There are a few cons:

1. You have to attach the machine to your kitchen counter for stability. I had a hard time with this because all my counter space was blocked with drawers underneath.

2. The hand crank is not attached to the machine, so it sometimes loosens and falls off as you're rolling out your dough.

These, however, are minor pains to endure for a bowl of fresh, hand made pasta.