Customer Reviews

Marcato Atlas Wellness 150 Pasta Maker, Stainless Steel

5 star:		(110)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I got this pasta maker based on feedback from this and similar web sites. As always, the quality of the pasta depends on the quality of the dough - and that takes some practice. Once I had a good recipe and decent results rolling out by hand, the addition of this machine made life great!

Despite the jokes about Fiats and other Italian machinery - this machine is world class. It is heavy, solid and built to tight tolerances. You need to cut your pasta to fit and it's nice to have another set of hands, but once you get used to it the results are amazing!

I also got the ravioli attachment which is awesome. This machine will last forever if you care for it (do not immerse!) and makes a super fresh pasta dinner in less than an hour. My Sicilian mother (rest in peace) would be jealous!

I have been intrigued with making fresh pasta my whole life, but shied away from getting a pasta maker because I thought it would be difficult and messy, and that it was at least a two-person job. I was wrong on all counts. I took a cooking class when I was in Rome recently, and the Italian chef/instructor had not one but TWO Marcato Atlas 150 pasta makers that he used in both his restaurant and cooking classes. Among other things we did in the cooking class, we made fresh pasta, and I was astounded how easy it was. With only the briefest instruction, we made enough pasta to feed 12 hungry people in a matter of minutes. I bought one for myself when I got home, and have been making pasta, all by myself, ever since. It's very easy, but getting the dough right is absolutely key to success.

You'll never be happy with this or any other pasta maker if you don't get the dough right. If it's sticking to the roller or cutters, or the noodle strands are sticking together, it's NOT the fault of the pasta maker, it's because THE DOUGH IS TOO WET - period. It's fine to use a dough "recipe," but you simply cannot rely on a recipe to produce dough that isn't too wet or too dry. A recipe can be a good guide - a place to start - but you must be prepared to tweak the dough as needed. The type/blend/brands of flour, the temperature and humidity of your kitchen, the size/temperature of the eggs, if the dough has oil in it or not. . .all these variables affect the dough.

To make my favorite pasta I generally use equal parts of all-purpose and semolina flours. I add salt and olive oil to taste; for me that's about ¼ teaspoon of each per egg. I like pasta made with AP flour alone - it's silky smooth and delicious - but I prefer the gorgeous color, flavor and extra "bite" that comes by adding the high-protein semolina. That said, I like the noodles in my Fettuccine Alfredo a little softer, so I use less semolina in the dough - it's just that easy. I've learned that I can count on one generous serving for every egg in the dough - a simple way to determine how much to make. Without using any real measuring devices, I "eyeball" the amount of salt and oil needed according to the number of eggs, then add flour until it feels right - that's as close as I ever get to a "recipe." Don't like my salt/oil ratio? - change it - that's the beauty of making your own pasta. There's no "rule," so make it the way you like.

I use my food processor with the dough blade to mix the dough. I start with ALL the wet ingredients (room-temperature eggs) and about half the flour plus the salt and oil to achieve a wet slurry. To this I keep adding flour until the dough gathers together to form a single cohesive ball/blob, then after that I keep adding flour until the ball starts to crumble. Once the dough ball has crumbled, I stop and pinch some of the crumbles together - in the beginning the crumbles are large and usually pinch together in a wet, sticky dough. I keep adding/processing in more flour, again and again, until the crumbles get smaller and start resembling a coarse meal - the size of peas or smaller. When I can finally pinch the crumbles and they hold together without being remotely sticky, maybe even seem a little dry, I dump it all onto the counter and bring it together by hand forming a ball that is a bit dry and shaggy looking. (If I add too much flour while the dough is in the food processor, I process in a few drops of room-temperature water to correct it.) Whether you make your dough by hand, in a stand mixer, or any other method, this is the consistency the dough ball should be BEFORE resting it.

After this the ball of dough should be wrapped in plastic and left to rest at room temperature (not in the fridge) for at least 20-30 minutes before rolling and cutting - this ensures that every particle of flour is completely hydrated, and allows the gluten to relax which makes it easier to roll. The dough that might have seemed a little too dry and stiff before this rest, will now be more pliable and the perfect consistency for rolling and cutting per the pasta maker instructions.

The single most important step to successfully making homemade pasta is NOT making the dough too wet. One reviewer here suggests practicing to "get the feel" for the consistency of the dough, and s/he's absolutely right. Another says to dust with "flour, flour, and more flour" when rolling and cutting the pasta, and s/he's absolutely wrong. If you have to add that much flour when rolling and cutting your pasta, THE DOUGH IS TOO WET - period. Think about it. . .it doesn't matter if a sheet of too-wet dough is covered in a mountain of dry flour. . .the roller/cutters will squish/cut right through it and expose the sticky wet dough inside, and when it does, I T - W I L L - S T I C K.

With practice I promise you'll get the hang of it. I have, and now I can roll and cut pasta with little or no additional flour, and it's an absolute delight to make pasta without it sticking, and without flour spread all over the kitchen. This is the method I learned from a seasoned Italian chef in Rome, and I'm here to say that it works. It will work for you too - don't give up - buona fortuna!

This is the only pasta maker I've ever used, and I bought it because of the obvious endorsement of an Italian chef. It works great for me and I find it extremely easy to use. Clean-up is just as easy so long as you haven't been rolling and cutting overly-wet dough. A clean, dry pastry brush does most of the work, but a can of compressed air can help blast flour from little spaces with ease. I also send wax paper sheets through the cutters to dislodge anything that might be left behind, and the wax also "lubricates" the cutters. I just fold a piece into two or three layers to fit the width of the cutter, then roll it through - no worries - it shreds the paper, but it doesn't hurt a thing and works great.

My favorite website for all things pasta, and for pasta-making inspiration is - mangiabenepasta-dot-com. Don't wait as long as I did to enjoy the pleasures of making and eating fresh pasta.

I purchased this machine after a terrible experience with my Kitchenaid pasta attachments. I had no luck producing pasta and ended my experience in tears,not a good way to pursue a favorite hobby. When my Atlas arrived I followed the directions and within an hour I had produced a lovely bowl of fresh spinach pasta which my husband and I promptly ate!!!!! My husband took a turn and he produced a perfect batch on his first attempt. Somtimes simple is exactly what is needed since the price of the Kitchenaid rollers is well over a hundred dollars and the Atlas was a bargin with free shipping as well. I can't say enough good things about the Atlas plus they have a very informative web site. Bellisimo ...J.P.

Since this is my first pasta machine I have no others to compare with. My first result was "OK" and subsequent attempts much better. As a newbie at making pasta I think the machine is great, though the thin spaghetti from the spaghetti cutter is prone to stick some (probably my bad - too moist?) the fettucine/taglatelle cutter works great and sheets for cut shapes like bow-ties are really simple to do. I am happy with my purchase and am having fun with it. Though it involves more work, fresh pasta is great!

My mother bought one of these in the early 70's. I bought one in the early 80's.

WARNING: DO NOT USE ANY WATER IN CLEANING. IT WILL RUIN IT. (The old directions were in Italian and it's hidden in there someplace.)

Making the dough is a little tricky. Here is an exact recipe to use with King Arthur's Flour. Personally, I prefer flour I get from Montana Flour & Grains in Ft. Benton, MT. (I'm not associated with either company.) Cheaper flours will not work as well as the moisture content varies too much and they aren't as "sticky."

2 cups flour
1 egg (as fresh as possible)
1/3 cup water

I mix mine in a bread machine until it's thoroughly mixed and then put it on a floured board to shape it gently pressing with the heel of the hand until it forms a circle as wide as the roller. Press an end a little thin so it feeds through easier.

The dough should be dry enough so if you throw a ball of it against the ceiling, it won't stick.

Roll it through a couple times on setting 1, then fold it in half and do it a couple more times. Then you can increase the number 1 at a time until you get to the desired thickness. If it's too moist, dust a bit with flour. If it tears apart, it's too moist.

For lasagna, I cut it in strips with a pizza cutter. There is no need to boil the noodles before cooking in lasagna, but be careful not to leave any edges exposed or they will get hard.

For pierogi, I use a cap about 3 1/2 inches round to cut circles. A small metal coffee can works well, too.

Although others might work as well as this one, they might not. Why take the chance?

Bought the 180 yesterday. As this is my first pasta maker, I planned to spend all afternoon in Pasta Laboratory, but the first batch was good, the second better, the third (which was dinner, tossed with Marcela Hazan's pink shrimp sauce with cream) perfect. Just be patient and careful about adding flour to your eggs---you want just enough to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and counter as you knead, and not a dash more. I found I needed to add a bit of flour now and again as I kneaded. Ignore precise flour-to-egg ratios, as the amount of flour required will depend on the size and temp of your eggs, the humidity in your kitchen, and the nature of your flour. Go by touch.

If making the dough is easy, this machine makes the rest idiot-proof (just remember that if you've rolled the pasta on the thinnest setting, it will cook in two minutes or less). It's heavy, attractive, and well-made. I fully expect to leave it to charity or a child when I depart. But do ignore Amazon's product title! The machine is not made of stainless still, and will not take kindly to water. Just sweep it with a basting brush reserved for the purpose.

I had been making home made pasta and it was quite good but I had the hardest time getting it thin enough, I could but it was just so much work. I posed a question to my cooking group and they said get some kind of pasta machine. They all had recommendations but basically only two, the Atlas Original and the Imperza. As I researched them, there didn't seem to be much difference between them, both high quality and both made in Italy. I bought the Atlas because it had free shipping on Amazon and the Impreza didn't and the Impreza was not supplied by Amazon but another supplier through Amazon. Amazon has a such a great return policy, they even pay for the shipping should you have to return it. So the decision had been made and I ordered it.

In the mean time, I went to work designing a system to address everyone's complaint about any of the manual pasta makers, that is the clamp and the necessity to have two people. I don't want my wife in the same town when I make pasta, it looks like flour wars when I am through, but it is all cleaned up by the time she comes back.

I bought a board at Walmart for $[...] and I had everything else I needed. I hope this picture comes through if not I am also going to give the actual address that can be viewed in your browser.
[...]

With the saving on the shipping I bought Cooks Illustrated Pasta and Noodle instruction book, in my life time I would never get through all these recipes. Bascially I use their recipe for pasta, 3 cups of APF and 3 eggs, today I used 4 cups of flour and 4 eggs, simple enough, the extra cup was whole wheat, I have never done this before, so I don't know how it will work, I think it will be good. Whole wheat is somewhat harder to work with, but I suspect you would get the knack after a couple of trys.

I like working with the dough so this is just what I wanted and it looks like it will get passed down, really built well. If you want a pasta maker and don't mind hand making the pasta as opposed to the machines that basically mix the pasta and extrude the pasta, this is a very nice choice. I haven't tried the cheaper ones, it is possible you could get lucky, but I wouldn't mess around and get the real deal, you won't be sorry.

Attempted making pasta last year with bountiful garden of basil. It turned out too thick no matter HOW many times I flattened it with my rolling pin. This little machine got it sooooooo thin and after cooking (which took NO TIME at ALL!) it felt like silk in my mouth! Every bit as delicious and better than dried pasta, as I was told it would be.
Immediately ordered the ravioli attachment and it arrived just last week. We are eager to put our imagination and ravioli recipies to work!
Only-est thing is it takes 2 to hold it onto our counter while turning the crank and feed the dough into the rollers. I wish it had a better "grip".

I just ordered this pasta machine and I love it. It is a litte messy and time consuming to make fresh pasta dough but the effort was worth it. I had success on my first effort and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. My husband was amazed at the difference in texture of fresh pasta. The basic pasta recipe that comes with the machine is made with only eggs and all-purpose flour. Super simple. The angel hair attachment I ordered was not made by atlas but is supposed to fit this machine. It fits, but came off several times. I'm looking forward to trying some different recipes.

I purchased this product several months ago and from day 1 it has been terrific. Now, I make homemade pasta several times a week and this machine has a permanent place on my counter. Prior to owning this, I had never made pasta in my life but even my first attempt turned out splendidly. I have tried many different ingredients but most of the time I simply throw an egg and some flour in the food processor, let the dough rest for a bit, then start rolling. Even my children enjoy helping roll out the dough. My husband commented the other day that this was the best purchase I made all year.