Imperia Pasta Maker Machine – Heavy Duty Steel Construction w Easy Lock Dial and Wood Grip Handle- Model 150 Made in Italy
- Pasta Maker- Traditional pasta roller lets you make the freshest pasta you’ve ever tasted right at home
- Pasta Machine- Made of heavy duty, shiny chromed plated steel
- 6-inch wide roller with double cutter head that makes thin spaghetti and wide fettucini noodles
- Easy-lock adjustment dial with wood grip handle easily cranks out the dough
- Made in Italy by Imperia- Additional attachments for a variety of noodle shapes available separately
$60
S150 Features: -Includes double cutter for spaghetti and fettuccine. -Attachments not included. Product Type: -Pasta maker. Color: -Chrome. Adjustable Thickness: -Yes. Recipe Book Included: -Yes. Attachment Included: -Yes. Operation: -Manual. Primary Material: -Metal. Dimensions: Overall Product Weight: -7.5 lbs.
From the manufacturer
Specification: Imperia Pasta Maker Machine – Heavy Duty Steel Construction w Easy Lock Dial and Wood Grip Handle- Model 150 Made in Italy
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angelrob –
Awesome machine!Okay, so it arrived yesterday and I ran my first “cleaning” batch through this morning. I used only water and the most abundant flour in the house which was whole wheat… I made a dough of 1/2 cup water and 1 cup flour (with more added as I kneaded and ran it through). I mixed it up and kneaded a bit then let it sit for 10-15 mins.Setting up the machine: I was able to put it on the counter with the clamp between two drawers and it holds quite well. The counter and cabinets are standard installs. It would be nice if maybe the rod was longer, but it is quite sturdy. It was a little bit tight turning the thumbscrew, but it was quite doable and no knuckles scraped! :-)Then I grabbed a fist-sized chunk of the dough and rolled it in flour and started running it through the machine at setting 6. Then 5, and on down to 1. At 1, the whole wheat/flour dough did get a few holes and had some roughness the first time, but after a couple of runs through, it was smooth and thin. I then ran a few of these sheets through the cutters. The wider (fettuccine) was good at all thicknesses I tried, 3-1, though a tiny bit thicker was better…we’ll see how they cook up. The thinner (spaghetti/angel hair) worked best with the thinner sheets. The thicker sheets – or maybe it was that they were not quite floured enough – make the resulting spaghetti somewhat bumpy, as if it was getting pushed through rather than being cut cleanly.The handle stayed in while I was working, the only time it fell out was when I let go at the end of rolling and the handle was up and at just the right angle – I think I might have pulled it as I moved my hand away. It was quite easy to get used to letting it go at the bottom of the rotation.The action feels smooth and even. My dough was pretty thick – whole wheat – and it pulled through quite easily. I didn’t force it, just let it sit on top and “pull” itself through. It will take some experience to get this even so my sheets are more square, but the thickness is very even through each level.Cleanup was easy with the 1″ paintbrush I appropriated from our workbench 🙂 Even the few bits of pasta that were sticky enough to remain in the cutter came off as it dried.The (minor) negatives and reason for 4 stars: the feeder tray falls out. Because of the way it’s attached, the rollers moving the dough into the feeder pulls the tray off. I’ll play with it and so far I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, maybe as I get better with “sheets” it will be more useful (and more annoying that it doesn’t stay in). But it doesn’t work as expected.Out of the box, there were 3 rust spots on the side of the machine. They are small and I was able to use a tiny bit of dry steel wool to get them off. We have some chrome spray paint for a tiny touch-up. It was disappointing to have this out of the box, but will not affect function and is easily fixed. Not everyone might have the tools and paint handy, but I’d rather fix it than waste time and resources to send it back, probably to be tossed… We’ll see how the finish holds up over the next few months.Overall: So far, LOVE IT!!!FIRST BATCH UPDATE: First batch of “real” pasta went swimmingly! 100% semolina no.1. 1 cup of flour and 1 egg for a smaller first batch. It was a little “dry” the first time through on setting #6, it crumbled, had holes and broke in a few places. But a touch of water and some all-purpose flour dusted and kneaded in fixed that. The second and third times through it looked like the picture in the manual! I ran it through to #2 (at some point in the middle it got so long I had to cut it in half) then through the smaller cutter for angel hair.The instructions have you folding it over and running it through a few times. I did that once or twice on each setting as I thinned it, but the first time I went down a #, I ran it through the single thickness (e.g. when I went from #6 -> #5, I ran it through 6, folded the ends together, through 6 again, then turned it to 5 and ran it through once, THEN folded it, ends together, through 5, then single thickness through 4, etc.)The last bit I ran through to #3 thickness and did a small bit of fettuccine. There were a couple of bits of metal still in the rollers, so I should have run the cleaning batch through the big cutters a few more times….oops! Still LOVE IT!
Ryan Miller –
Great pasta maker!If you make your pasta dough properly this pasta maker works perfectly. But if you do what I did on my first attempt and try to feed too wet dough through it…..welcome to nightmare land. There is no way to disassemble it without hand tools. I did not do that, because all my life I have always found taking something apart, is waaaay easier than putting it back together. So I had to let the wet dough harden, and then use a butter knife to chip out the dry chunks, then start again. My bad, but it would have been much easier to try again sooner if it was easier to disassemble this thing to clean it out. All in all once I got the hang of preparing the pasta dough properly, it worked like an absolute charm. The Imperia machine that I used I had sent to a friends place thousands of KM’s away from where I live, so we could make fresh pasta together while I was on vacation there. I am about to order another one for my own house right now.
Spud –
The ClassicWow, I paid like $15 for this aeons ago!Now it is in some random box in my storage unit :(If you want to make your own pasta, this remains the one to get.Buy good semolina flour; use a good egg; use a fork (watch the videos). You might boil store (barilla) spaghetti sometimes if your kitchen is dirty, but nothing is better than the five minutes it takes to make your own (it takes me longer to boil the water, but I did have to practice some first: to boil the water; making the pasta is quicker).
Anonymous –
What a great pasta machine!After reading several reviews on slightly cheaper models and considering the advice given in Marcella Hazan’s “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”, I chose this model. It sat under the cabinet for 3 weeks after I bought it because life’s demands didn’t afford any time to play with my new toy. I finally scored a Saturday with nothing else to do and pulled it out of the cabinet. Here are a few observations:1. This model is a product of Italy and the instructions (which are written in several languages) are written in poor English. Since the product is a simple design, I found that I didn’t really need the instructions to figure out how to assemble the double cutter attachment. Thankfully, attaching the double cutter is the only assembly required.2. The pasta machine came with a recipe for pasta dough. The recipe was also written in several languages but the English instructions were a bit clearer than the assembly instructions. I didn’t use the recipe provided by the machine’s manufacturer though. I used the instructions provided in Marcella’s book mentioned above.3. This machine is heavy and unbalanced when the double cutter is attached. It comes with a clamp to clamp it to your counter top or table if you choose to use the hand crank provided to operate the machine. I bought the “Villaware V180 Pasta Machine Motorizer” along with the pasta machine. Using the motor with the pasta machine not only eliminates the need to use the hand crank, it eliminates the need to clamp the pasta machine. Not having to use the clamp means that you can position the machine anywhere you wish on your work surface, not just on the edge. I found it was more comfortable to place the machine about midway to the wall on my counter top. Using the motor also frees up both hands for manipulating the pasta dough as it is being processed. I honestly don’t think I could have used the thinnest settings with just one hand to manipulate the pasta dough. The dough becomes quite fragile when it thins and tends to want to stretch and presumably, break at the thinner settings. By using two hands to manipulate the dough, I found it easy to process the dough through the machine even at the thinnest settings.4. One of Marcella’s suggestions was to buy a machine with a double cutter because you will be able to make wide fettuccine style noodles and narrow round spaghettini style noodles. I made both using the fettuccine style noodles to make fettuccine in butter and cream sauce (Alfredo) and short spaghettini style noodles to make chicken noodle soup. Both cutters worked flawlessly.5. The machine/motor’s over all performance was also flawless. The motor switch has two speed settings and I used the slow setting throughout. The pasta machine and motor combination worked the dough easily through all the width settings. The motor also has a separate ravioli button that I have not tried yet. I ended up processing three batches of dough. The first was used to clean the pasta machine of metal bits and thrown away as was instructed in the manual.Conclusion:This is a well made pasta machine. It’s parts are well designed and made of stainless steel. Maintenance is a breeze. Just wipe it down when finished using it. This is a great little pasta machine. In short, it does what it is supposed to do – and – it does it with ease. It makes pasta.
LaDonna –
Easy and sturdyI bought this right after our Italy trip where we had a pasta making class and the instructor used a similar product. This one is nice and heavy and easy to use.
hlg22 –
Great little pasta machineI took cooking classes while in Italy, and the Imperia was the machine that my instructor used. Needless to say, I wanted to buy one myself upon returning to the US – this is identical to the machine I used in Italy. I was somewhat dubious that I’d be able to replicate the results from my cooking class given that I’d never made pasta before, but I have been very pleased with this machine and have had great results.The only assembly instructions are in Italian, though it is pretty intuitive when you look at the photos. The fettuccine/spaghetti attachment slides on to one side, and you slot the handle into the main roller or the fettuccine or spaghetti rollers, depending on what you’re using. I found the little tray (for feeding the dough in?) unnecessary and don’t use it.I almost bought the motor (an additional $100) based on reviews I read saying that it is necessary because otherwise two hands aren’t enough to make the pasta and the crank is too hard to turn. I’m glad I didn’t. I have had no problems feeding the pasta dough in with one hand while turning the crank with the other. The machine attaches securely to the countertop with the included clamp, and you don’t need another hand to “catch” the pasta when it comes out of the machine – if the dough is made correctly, it will not stick to itself and you can just pick up the sheet or noodles after they’ve fallen out the bottom. I have made sheets of pasta for pappardelle and ravioli (hand filled, not using the Imperia ravioli attachment), fettuccini, and spaghetti, all with success. The advice we got in Italy when making sheets of pasta for ravioli, etc., was to start with the widest setting, and roll it through each setting twice, dusting with flour as needed in between (ending on the second thinnest for ravioli). We were also told to crank the dough through quickly, to prevent sticking. These tips have worked very well and I have had zero problems with sticking, or it being too difficult to turn – my friend’s four year old was able to turn it to make her own spaghetti after I set up the machine for her and helped her feed in the sheet of pasta. The recipe I use is the one I learned in Italy – ratio of 100 grams of flour to 1 egg, pinch of salt, and optional olive oil. Knead the dough until very soft and smooth and then let it rest for at least 20-30 minutes before rolling out.The instruction book says that the first batch should be a “test batch” to be discarded, as any grit, etc. lingering from the manufacturing process will adhere to the dough. I would not skip this – while I did not see any metal bits in the dough that other reviews have mentioned, my machine did have what appeared to be a bit of black oil on the rollers that was picked up in that first batch of dough. Unfortunately, it seems that there is still some oil in the edges of the machine – I have made pasta at least 10 times now and still have a problem with oil/black streaks in the dough if it is allowed to go all the way to the edges of the roller, which then of course has to be cut off and discarded. That, honestly, is the only negative I have experienced with this machine and my only reason for giving it 4 stars instead of 5.Finally, I have read complaints that it is “not washable.” If you are making your dough correctly, you shouldn’t need to wash it! You’re only going to have a problem if the dough is too sticky. There is nothing on my machine after I use it except a few bits of flour that brush right off. Getting the texture of the dough right is the most important thing!
Reader –
Not the greatestI’ve owned the Imperia Pasta machine for about three years now, and I recently ditched it in favor of the pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. If you decide to purchase the Imperia, a couple of things you should know:1) It is a horrendous process to make the pasta manually with the hand crank. In the end the pasta comes out wonderful, but is incredibly time consuming and ends up being a two person job. You need to guide the pasta properly after it comes out of the roller/cutter and it is almost impossible to do this alone, since you have to crank with one hand and feed the dough with another. Take my word on this one – if anyone tells you otherwise in these reviews, my only guess is that they are getting paid by the manufacturer to say so!2) the motor attachment (sold separately) is a must-have and transforms your pasta making into a one-person project that takes a fraction of the time. I bought the motor after 6 months of struggling with the hand crank and it was well worth the additional $100 investment. However, I have been getting increasingly frustrated with the motor because it attaches to the Imperia machine with a cheap plastic attachment and half the time the plastic thing stops “catching” while you are rolling your dough – and the motor falls off the machine (you can hold the motor on manually, but this is a real pain). The design of the plastic device to attach the motor to the machine is truly horrible – but even if you have to hold the motor on manually, it is far preferable than cranking the pasta by hand. Regardless of what anyone tells you, if you plan to use your pasta maker frequently (say, once a month or more) the motor is really a must-have, so be aware of this and know that it will seriously increase the price of your investment.3) It is difficult to find attachments for this machine, so you will be limited in the types of pasta you can make. It comes with a fettucini and a spaghetti cutter, which is what I’ve used most often. I separately purchased an attachment to make cavatelli (which is wonderful homemade!), but the cavatelli attachment is shorter than the roller, and doesn’t allow the motor to fit to the machine without holding it on manually (another poor design element). The only other attachment I was able to find was a ravioli attachment – which was a total waste of money. It is almost impossible to get a good result with the ravioli attachment – lots of waste, uneven results in the amount of filling inserted into the pastas, and makes a big mess. Do ravioli manually if you want it. Other than these attachments I’ve not been able to find any others to make other shapes of pasta.I was already using my Kitchen Aid stand mixer to knead my pasta dough, so due to the frustrations mentioned above, I finally decided it was time to splurge for the Kitchen Aid pasta attachments. If you have the stand mixer, I would highly recommend this option rather than going with the Imperia. By the time you buy the Imperia motor, the cost of the Imperia is equivalent to the 3-piece (cutter, fettucini and spagetti) Kitchen Aid attachments. The Kitchen Aid attachment works much the same way as the Imperia does, but since the power comes from the stand mixer itself, there is no need to deal with the hassle of trying to attach/manually hold on the separate motor that the Imperia has. I find that with the Kitchen Aid, it cuts down my prep time by about 1/3 as a result. As an added bonus, an extruder can also be purchased separately for the Kitchen Aid, and this allows you to make numerous other pasta shapes such as rigatoni, fusilli, etc. I love it!In summary, although the Imperia has served me well for the last few years, if I knew everything I know now when I was making my initial decision to purchase a machine, I would not have purchased it. The only scenario where I would recommend purchasing it is if you do not own a stand mixer and do not plan to invest in one. .
Lee –
Best little pasta machine.Very easy to assemble, use, and clean. Homemade pasta is WAY better than store bought, so you need this if you eat lots of pastas.
John Abbott –
Wish the clamp was biggerMy countertops are two inches thick and the bottom clamp to attach it to the counter only allows for about an inch and a half. This makes the pasta maker very hard to use.
Chef Pharrell –
Second one I have purchasedI purchased my first Imperia Pasta Machine in 2010 from Amazon and I have had excellent results every time with every cutter and the sheet roller is very easy to operate. I love this because I can hook it to a large cutting board and it is portable to any location.I take it with me to cooking classes I teach in offices, schools and at my client’s homes.I have learned through trial and error that you must do a few simple steps to insure success.If I am using all purpose flour dough:#1 is to use plenty of flour as the dough passed through the rollers so it doesn’t stick.#2 let the dough rest for 10 minutes before trying to run it through the cutter.#3 Cut long sheets in half if they become too difficult to work with.If I am using semolina flour:#1 this is my preferred flour because it is not sticky and the pasta turns out perfect when it’s cooked every time. It is never doughy when cooked.#2 Use Bob’s Red Mill semolina flour (I buy it by the case) and use the recipe right on the package.#3 Make sure to knead the dough for the full 10 minutes before letting it rest. It will be a little sticky at first but it will become easier to handle after about 5 minutes of kneading. Now I have two machines and the classes go twice as fast…The only reasons I give it 5 stars instead of six is that the crank on the side falls out a lot if direct pressure is not used when operating it. This gets a little frustrating for everyone. And the design of the controlling dial which you use to regulate the opening on the rollers on the opposite side of the crank is difficult to see when it is attached to the board or the counter. A better design would be to have it all on the one side of the machine.I thought about getting the ravioli attachment but the reviews are not good at all so I think I will stick with the free hand cutting method I currently use.s