Customer Reviews

VillaWare V515 Pasta Drying Rack

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

 

 

I won't discuss in detail the myriad of homemade ventures that were undertaken to try to make a 'rack,' (except the dowel rods hanging out of the empty wine bottles, that was pretty good) but will comment that it is almost criminal to not sell this with the pasta machine. Unless you are cooking for one -- not likely after kneeding for 25 minutes -- you're basically at a loss once the first batch comes marching out the machine an onto your arm. 'Where should I put this?' you ask innocently. The answer is that there is no good place anywhere in your kitchen. It will stick to itself and everything else and it will dry improperly and you will be becoming increasingly furious as you basically ruin every other batch. Unless you want to initmately know the anger of a sicilian, buy this.

This is easy to set up and easy to store, as well as being easy to clean. I really enjoy making fresh pasta at home, and this drying rack was the perfect addition to my set-up! Well made and durable.

The good stuff:

-Has LOTS of pasta drying space.
-Dowels come off for easy manuevering of pasta.
-I find it to be attractive, but I like simple wooden things

The bad stuff:
-Difficult to store, it doesn't fold on its own
-Difficult to take apart, the screws on mine were stripped
-A little flimsy

Overall, not a bad buy for the price - but there are better racks out there!

See below for the questions to these answers (unless you're Alex Trebek...)

1. Actually, I found that the top rack of the dishwasher worked pretty well. The perimeter of ours just about equals enough pasta for our family of four. But this presupposes an empty dishwasher--an uncommon state of affairs for our family of four.

2. Don't tighten the two screws through the bottom cross-members (the "feet" of the two "legs") quite as much as the others. Ditto for the screws holding the two "shoulders." Then, when it's time to put it away, just twist the feet and shoulders 90 degrees. Voila! A completely flat rack, which happens to fit perfectly into the Elfa cart on which I do my pasta kneading and rolling. It was clearly designed to fold this way, as the feet and shoulders are just short enough to fit.

3. I love it to bits. The most fun is when you pick the dowels up, one by one, and slide the fettucine or whatever off them into that pot of boiling water. Beats the dickens out of peeling it off the dishwasher racks!

[1. Where did you dry your pasta before you bought this rack?
2. Quoting a previous reviewer more or less freely, "I'd like to know what they did to get this thing to store flat."
3. How do you like this rack?]

This pasta rack is simple, functional, efficient, foldable and--yes--cheap. In response to some of the other comments:

1. For the last woman who couldn't figure out how to fold the rack flat, look for the review titled "Pasta Drying Secrets Revealed!" (Sept. 22, 2003) . Beyond what she says, I guess some people actually have to be told to remove the top dowels and store them separately (we just put a rubber band around them).

2. As for complaints about cheapness--stripped threads, warped and cracked beams--ours arrived in fine shape, but if yours didn't, send it back. Amazon has a very generous return policy for defective merchandise. On the other hand, if it cracks during construction, maybe you over-tightened the screws. You don't want the foot and shoulder screws too tight if you plan to fold it for storage, and let's be realistic: this thing is going to hold a few ounces of pasta, not a standing rib roast.

3. For the guy whose pasta was too long for the rack: Come on, Frank, the dowels hang fifteen inches above the base. (Yes, I measured it.) You're making 30" pasta?

4. Yes, it's unfinished. That works for us. We don't wash ours; we just wipe it before storage. The wood is sanded quite smooth--no rough spots or splinters. After a year and a half of heavy use, ours is basically like new. If, eventually, it begins to absorb too much olive oil from the pasta, I'll throw it out and buy another. They're cheap.

5. My favorite comment of all comes from Frank Forrest. "It is difficult to string the pasta through the narrow slats." I'm still laughing over that one. Tell me, Frank, are you still trying to find the Any key on your computer? Try this: put a single dowel on the front of the rack while you drape it. Then, move that dowel to the back of the rack and put another single dowel on the front for draping the next batch. Repeat.

(Incidentally, Frank, I notice you don't like your pasta machine, either. Any chance that's operator error, too?)

Update: Binky, darling, thank you for vindicating my review title. First, I never said you had to take the rack apart in order to fold it. The dowels just sit on top. They're *supposed* to lift off. To fold the rack flat, you just twist the feet and shoulders, binky--you don't have to unscrew it. Second, I did not say that the "slats are wide enough for pasta if you remove some of them." Third, I didn't say (nor imply), "you can always buy a new one if it breaks."

I've had one of these for about 10 years now, and it works fine. I have to admit when I first bought it, I was a little taken aback at how flimsy it was. However, as another reviewer pointed out, you're holding a few ounces of pasta, not a 10 pound roast. As for those who say the dowels are too close together, you need to use your noodle (pun intended) and learn how to think a little. I actually like how this one works. Unlike other dryers, the dowels are easily removed from the rack. I start with all the dowels out of the rack. I pick up a dowel, and when the pasta from my extruder or roller is the right length, I just drape it over the dowel, cut it off the pasta machine, and repeat until the dowel is full. Then I place it in the rack, pick up another dowel and repeat. When the pasta is dry, I just hold the dowel over a pot of boiling water or a freezer bag, and slide the pasta off. No big deal.

As I said, it is a little flimsy, but heck, it costs less than a six-pack of good ale. Yeah, I could get a bunch of doweling and 1x1, cut it up, cut some grooves in the 1X1, sand it all smooth, and screw it all together for less than this costs, but my time is valuable. If this one ever breaks or gets too grody to use, I'll certainly get another.

Oh boy. Did I ever get taken with this. I opened the box and out came tumbling an assorted quantity of wooden dowels, frame sticks and cheap screws. Well, I bought it so I might as well put it together. The result is a cheap "pasta dryer" made of cheap wood. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, as they say and you can't make a good product out of wood that looks like it is made from scrap wood. This pasta dryer is flimsy and cheap. Hanging pasta on it is a pain and the wood screws start to rust. I'll be using this stupid thing as firewood for the winter. This product should be taken off Amazon. It is a sham.

I bought this rack simply because it was the least expensive in the catalog. I was pleased and surprised to find it was all I would need. You get about ten usable feet of hanging space (enough for my 3 cup pasta recipe) and it will collapse flat for storage. I didn't realize from the picture that the dowels lift out easily so you can quickly drape (or fling) your pasta on one dowel at a time. It is possible to receive a rack that is warped (it's made of wood you know) but mine is solid, straight, and sturdy. This rack is well worth the money unless, of course, you don't like pasta.

My rack came with pieces warped, one screw and most screw holes missing. Wood split as I was putting it together. Used it once for drying pasta, then once for kindling. Hope you have better luck.

Received the dryer and assembling it would not be a BIG DEAL even through no instructions were included BUT UNBELIEVABLY they also "forget" to drill a hole for the screw to go through one of the feet at attach the base to the upright...well, ok still no biggie IF I HAD A DRILL however the screw needs to be recessed on the underside of base to stand flush so I'd not only have to own a drill BUT a 1/4" circular chuck to recess the scream head into the foot to allow it to stand flush! RIDICULOUS where was the quality control here...more trouble than it's worth to either fix it or send it back! I'd suggest that you buy a dryer you can "see" in a brick and mortar store.