Customer Reviews

Roma 6 Inch Traditional Style Pasta Machine

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I just bought one of these at a local store (it was the only model they carried) since I didn't want to wait for shipping. I've used it twice now. Here are my impressions:

It's built solid, and seems like a great value.

The clamp (which is removable) does its job very well. However, you may have to be creative in finding a place where you can actually clamp the thing and still use it. I clamped it to my slide-out cutting board.

It's easy to adjust the thickness of the pasta. You just pull out the knob on the side, and turn it to the desired position (there are 8 settings, and they each "click" in to place).

The recipe/instruction book that comes with it really isn't very good (at least from my 1 time trying a recipe from it). I followed the pasta recipe on there once and it turned out horribly (though it may have been because I was just using it for the first time). I found some great videos on youtube that demonstrate how to make pasta and had much better luck the second time around.

I made a batch of fresh spaghetti tonight, and it was absolutely to-die-for. Easily the best spaghetti I've ever had. The difference with fresh pasta is incredible. It's like comparing stale bread to home-baked fresh bread. No comparison.

All in all I feel that this is a terrific purchase that met and exceeded my expectations. I'd easily buy this again and see no need to buy a more expensive model -- this does the job perfectly.

I stripped the gears (for the rollers, not cutters) on this on the 3rd use. Total waste of my money. I know how to make pasta and use a pasta machine, if wimpy arms like mine can strip the gears, so can you. In good faith I called Pragotrade/ Weston to see if I could order new a gear but they will not sell them separately (I like fixing things instead of throwing them out).
Lesson: save the receipt or buy a more reputable brand, these are cheaply constructed.

I had made pasta a number of times in the past - rolled it out and cut it by hand. I didn't think that a pasta machine would make much difference. I was so wrong. It is so much easier and also tastes better. I think the taste improvement is because the strands are now all standard and so everything gets done at the same time.

I did have a small problem with the pasta sticking together as it came out of the machine - which is easily solved by simply dropping some flour through the machine.

One problem is that it is a bit difficult to find a place to clamp the machine - the ledge on my kitchen counter just isn't wide enough. I ended up clamping it to the kitchen table - a compromise I'm not entirely happy with.

I'm considering buying the lasagna add-on because 101 cookbooks has a recipe that sounds wonderful for completely homemade lasagna. Although, I suppose, I could just run the dough through the machine to the correct thinness and then cut it myself - but I really don't like the cutting part, nor am I any good at it.

I glanced at the recipes that came with the machine - but then promptly misplaced it. So, I use whole wheat flour (1/2 cup or so), 1 egg and then add flour or water depending on which it needs. shrug - easy enough for one serving.

This machine works well. The price is GREAT (compared to the Atlas). Most important thing to remember, no matter what machine you are using, the dough must not be sticky. Yes, the handle does fall out when you are not paying attention, however I don't know of any model that doesn't fall out (even my mom's 70's era Atlas machine does that)
Overall: great price for the home chef.

I am returning this product after its first use, because of the following issues:

1) The instruction manual fails to mention that the roller edges are covered with grease and tiny metal filings. I had to run some dough through the machine about four dozen times just to get it clean. Even then, it wasn't totally clean. I thought it was, but I was wrong, and a couple runs later, I started seeing grease & filings in my dough again. Luckily, this was my first use, and we had not eaten any pasta from this machine yet.

2) Pasta dough can -- and will -- get stuck in places, from which it will be impossible to remove. The hulls where the rollers sit contain impossible-to-reach spaces. You WILL have pieces of dough get caught in there, and they will be impossible to remove, and they will dry out, and possibly ruin future batches of pasta.

3) Both of the above issues might be workable if there was a way to clean the thing, but there isn't. The instructions warn against using water; you must use a dry towel, and their only suggestion for getting at the hard-to-reach places is to use a pastry brush. Well, I'm sorry, but after spending about an hour attempting to clean the thing after the first failed use, no pasta brush is going to help.

4) The crank handle falls out constantly.

I haven't yet had any problems with stripped gears, but this is my first (and only) use. Given the quality of the construction elsewhere -- the thickness selector feels ready to fall out, for example -- I would not be surprised if the gears gave out after a few uses.

Absolutely terrible product. I recommend all retailers stop carrying it.

I spent a number of hours looking over what pasta maker I wanted, but ended up going with this one basically for the price and the few good reviews. I figured the bad reviews were just people who had flukes. I was wrong. This machine looks like most any other pasta maker, but the fettuccini and spaghetti attachment is flimsy and broke the second time I used it. Fortunately, I'm good with putting things back together and was able to figure out what broke and put it all back together. However, it shouldn't have broken in the first place. The biggest problem is that it's only held together with 2 screws.

Be sure to run a batch of pasta through it multiple times before your first true use to get all the grease out. I'm glad I knew enough to do that. There was plenty of grease.

The rollers on my machine aren't lined up properly. The side closest to the thickness dial is closer than the side closest to the handle so it rolls the sheets of pasta out unevenly.

Be sure that your coat your pasta with a thin layer of flour so it rolls nicely. Also, the cutter doesn't cut all the way through, so I spent a long time separating the individual noodles from each other.

All said and done, it was a pain to do, but the end result was a very yummy dinner, even though it took me two tries to get it right.

I don't ordinarily write reviews but I felt compelled to share my experience with this machine with anyone looking to purchase a manual pasta machine. First off I am a Chef and restaurant owner and in years past have worked with a couple of pasta machines. In my opinion this little machine for the money is GREAT!. So far I've made approximately 10lbs of pasta and the finished product has been amazing. I'm looking forward to creating many more Specials with this machine.

Wayne B Lyons
President
Soul Flavors Inc.
[...]

I used "sacrificial" dough to clean my machine, as recommended in the instructions. But no matter how many times I ran the dough through I kept seeing small filings or some other dark speck of contamination. So, I ended up breaking the rules and washing the machine with a grease cutting soap (Lestoil). I did not completely immerse it, only washed the areas where the contamination seemed to be coming from. I dried it thoroughly, including using cotton swabs to get in the joints. Finally, I re-oiled the joints with olive oil. It was a lot of trouble, but the machine works perfectly and there are no more suspicious dark specks in my noodles. The fresh pasta is unbelievably delicious!
It would be great if the company modified its manufacturing process to present a finished product that does not have grease and metal filings that the customer has to remove, but otherwise I'm very satisfied with the machine. In fact, I'm ordering a couple more in order to teach my nieces how to make their own pasta. (However, I'll be cleaning the machines before I give them as presents!)

To tell the "truth", I bought this for my wife..."but not to make homemade pasta"!!!!
My wife is an artist/hobbyist and came across an art of making jewerly, etc.
out of CLAY that is then baked. She uses all sorts of colored clay and uses the
pasta machine to roll out the clay and then to re-roll colors. Hard to explain but
the final products she makes/sells, everyone raves on her talent & creativity...
Great service/shipping from Amazon. Machine was priced very reasonalble and holding up VG.

The Roma pasta machine is a wonderful buy. Not only is it priced properly, but also has the luxury of being able to add other pasta attachments to it later if you desire. This is my second one. My daughter now has my first one. It's only about 35 years old and still working great. I would highly recommend this one to anyone who is looking for a manual pasta maker. Or for that matter, it beats my electric one.