Norpro Spaetzle Maker Import To Shop ×Product customization General Description Gallery Reviews Variations Specification

Dough never sticksI bought this tool about four months ago after finding a recipe online for a Hungarian Stew over Nokedli (which is apparently the Hungarian version of spaetzle). I cannot compare use of this maker to any other other method, because I had never made Spaetzle before. But, if you are reluctant to use this because you fear that the dough will stick or be difficult to remove from the unit, then have no fear. I’ve been using it at least weekly for over 4 months now without those issues. In fact, we love the home made pasta so much that I was doing it twice weekly for the first two months! We now eat Nokedli in place of other boxed pastas with a variety of dishes; I use white pepper (1/8th tsp for 2 Cups flour) in place of the nutmeg.I’ve read some reviews that state that the pasta cooks onto the maker without falling down into the water. Solution: use a deep pot, like a spaghetti pot, and only fill it halfway with water. This pasta won’t absorb much, since it’s not dried, and you just don’t need a whole pot full. This keeps the heat further away from the stainless steel maker. It also obviates the need for oven mitts or other hand protection. You need to work fast when doing this; I can’t imagine how difficult it would be with gloves on! And, there is no need to hook the maker onto your pot until the water has reached a full boil – otherwise you risk heating up the maker and creating the situation in which the pasta cooks onto it and is difficult to push through the holes. Just snap it on at the last possible second when your water is boiling and your batter is at pot’s side.Particularly when you first start making this, it helps to start with cold batter, too. I usually prepare the batter, cover it, and refrigerate it for the ten minutes or so it takes my old glass cook-top to boil the water. (Note: I like this method because it slows down the cooking process, giving more time to remove the maker from on top of the pot and grab the strainer. You’ll know that the pasta is cooked when it floats to the surface.)Also, you need a good Spider Strainer to scoop the noodles out rather than pouring the whole pot through a colander. This pasta is too delicate and cooks too fast for that method. I bought this one 

Helen Chen’s Asian Kitchen 5-inch Spider Strainer

 for the job, mostly because it was inexpensive. Now I use the Spider Strainer for lots of other things, too.Another thing I’ve learned – I warm up my serving bowl for about five minutes in the microwave (I put a little water in mine, but my mother does hers dry) before I start. When it’s good and hot, after dumping out the water, I put a small pat of butter in the bottom of the hot bowl and keep it next to the pot while I make the Nokedli. That way, I can give it a quick stir after each addition of pasta with the Spider Strainer, thus coating it before it sits. Then, when I’m done making the pasta, I cover it, knowing that it will stay warm for about 15 minutes. This gives me time to quickly wash the Nokedli maker and Spider Strainer before sitting down to eat; it’s so much easier to get the dough off while it’s still hot.I hope these tips help! I loved mine so much that I gave my sister one for Christmas, too. Since I’ve been tweaking MY RECIPE for a while, I’ll share it in a comment after this review is published. This review is more than long enough without it, but someone may be interested . . . I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this maker!Tip Summary :1) Deep pot only HALF full of water2) leave Spaetzle maker off of your pot while water heats to a boil3) chill batter for 10-12 minutes in refrigerator4) warm serving bowl – if using butter or oil, put it in the bottom of the bowl at the beginning, and stir as you go5) do not use colander method to drain – use slotted spoon or invest in Spider Strainer (link above)6) wash tools immediately – that’s why you warmed the serving dish, it’ll just take a couple of minutes now7) try white pepper instead of nutmeg for more versatility in matching this pasta with other entreesUPDATE 07/01/13 : Still adore this indispensable gadget, and find that even with very frequent use, it’s holding up well. I’m updating today because a recent comment on this review reminded me that I’ve been meaning to add my newest tip here (Thanx, kim!). In the interest of variety, I’ve started adding seasoning to the boiling water. A favorite that requires minimal effort is the addition of one tub of 

Knorr Homestyle Stock Vegetable, 4.66Ounce

 to the cooking water once it has begun to boil. This adds a subtle, yet different, flavor to the homemade noodles. This trick works well with Knorr’s chicken and beef flavors, too, but I’ve chosen the veggie flavor for versatility as the finished product complements the widest variety of entrees. Enjoy!UPDATE 12/19/13 : Though I’m not at all disenchanted by my Nokedli maker (it’s still one of my top ten kitchen gadgets), I’m no longer serving homemade pasta twice weekly. I still use it a few times a month, now that I’ve had it for about a year, and it has held up to frequent use very well. Mine shows no wear, appearing absolutely brand new after at least 70 uses. These days, I’m seasoning the cooking water with 

Vegeta Tin

, which I now buy at my local Fairway Market, with great results. I’ve also experimented with various seasonings, such as ground dried oregano and fresh cilantro (two of my favorites), added to the batter, and though it’s nice to have some variety, most of the time I just stick with the ground black pepper and season the water.

I know its another single-use gadget but believe me, this one is totally worth it.Anyone who has ever attempted to make spaetzle by “pushing the dough through a collander” or “cutting pieces of dough off” or “passing dough through a cheese grater” or other similar methods knows that all of these methods are difficult and time-consuming. This gadget replaces all those difficult methods, and is super easy to use. For the first time ever, I made spaetzle without my hands getting overheated by the steaming pot of boiling water! The price is very reasonable, and its totally worth finding the storage space in your kitchen for this gadget.This model has a plastic handle and a plastic hopper to hold the dough (unlike other all-metal designs, which could heat up and be on the warm side). It is about the size of a mandolin slicer and resembles one somewhat, but isnt sharp and therefore is fairly safe to use. You just scrape the dough into the hopper, hold the gadget over your pot of boiling water, and slide the hopper up and down until the dough has dropped through the holes and into the water – it just takes a minute or so to do one hopper full of dough. It’s super easy and waaaay faster to make up a batch of spaetzle than any other spaetzle-making method. In fact, its so fast, I found I had to stop and wait for my water to return to a boil between batches because I was making spaetzle faster than my stove could reheat the water. If you’re considering making spaetzle for a crowd, you need this gadget.The only thing I’d change about this gadget is that it has a small lip on the end of it, designed to catch the rim of your stockpot. The good thing about this is that it makes it easier to get the dough *in* the stockpot instead of all over your stovetop. But, although the lip is a good idea, it happens to be constructed of metal, which would scratch up my nonstick stockpot if I allowed it to touch it. However, I still gave the spaetzle maker five stars, because its so lightweight and simple to use that it isn’t difficult to hold the gadget over the pot and still get 99% of the dough where it needs to be.

EFFORTLESS spaetzle; why did I wait so long to try this?!I’ve enjoyed spätzle several times in Leavenworth, WA ~ it’s a funky little tourist trap town that is set up to be like a Bavarian village. They’ve spent a good amount of time working on their authenticity. We live about 50 miles away and have visited there several times over the years and a dish I’ve become addicted to is spaetzle, specifically, käsespätzle. Kaese spaetzle is spaetzle baked with Emmentaler cheese and caramelized onions. Oh yeah. Basically German mac and cheese. It’s SO good. ANYWAY, A few years ago I decided to make spaetzle at home and used the colander method. It took FOREVER and made a huge mess. While it turned out good, it was a pain to make – very messy and labor intensive. I pretty much wrote off the idea of making spaetzle at home after that. Some time later, I was stumbling around the web and my interest in spaetzle was renewed, especially after seeing several food blogs say that THIS was THE TOOL for spaetzle. I questioned my need for such an item, abhorring single-use cooking tools and wondering how many batches of spaetzle I would need to make for it to pay off. Lo and behold, for the low prices of $7 I was able to procure this spaetzle grater from Amazon. And then, sadly, here it sat unused in my cabinet for over a year until tonight when I finally decided to see if it was truly the miracle spaetzle tool I needed. OH. MY. GOSH. I made a delicious batch of perfect spaetzle in no less than 10 minutes with this grater! I was incredulous at first that my dough/batter would go through the holes, but it was absolutely effortless! This will be getting used much more frequently now, and I am kicking myself for waiting this long to try it. Adding Emmentaler cheese to my grocery list – kaese spaetzle will be on a future menu very soon!

I made Spaetzle for the first time even though I suck at cookingSo I am not German and I live in the United States. Having an interest in German culture, I wondered what homemade Spaetzle tasted like. At a local grocery store, they sell a packaged dried Spaetzle, but I wanted a more authentic experience. After watching some Youtube videos, I learned the real Swabian grandma way is to cut the noodles on a wooden board over boiling water. Although the Swabian grandma in the video made it look extremely easy, I knew I was probably going to burn the kitchen down when trying this because I am not that skilled in cooking. After typing “Spaetzle” on Amazon, I found the Norpro Maker. I asked a German friend of mine if this is even a thing that’s used in Germany. She said “yes, everyone uses either this or the expensive hardcore pressing machine. But this is cheap and works well”. Since the German said yes, I went with it and purchased it. When it arrived, I was happy to find that the packaging had a recipe on back. It was simple, just egg, milk, flour, salt, and nutmeg. After combining everything together, you put the Spaetzle maker on top of boiling water over the pot. Then you pour the mixture in the cube part and move it up and down. Little Spaetzle noodles then fall into the boiling water and cooks rather instantly. It was so simple even for someone who sucks at cooking! I ate Spaetzle with a side of sauerkraut. It was honestly a little bit bland, but I think you’re supposed to put other stuff in the Spaetzle for more flavoring. I’m gonna try Käsespätzle next time. This is one of the best kitchen purchases I’ve ever made!

Easy, affordable spaetzle tool.I ordered the Norpro Spaetzle Maker when I was recently tasked with making Lichtenstein’s National Dish, Käsknöpfle, for a themed party. Since I’m not from Lichtenstein and don’t even own a suitable collander (Mine is plastic with tiny holes) to make the necessary Spaetzle, I ordered the Norpo with my prime account.For my modest, amateur spaetzle needs, the Norpro is a good fit. Pour the batter into the top and move the guide back in forth over a pot of boiling water. There isn’t much more too it. It took a bit of practice to get the speed of the motion right. At first I thought it would be best to move the guide slowly, but counterintuitively this produced very small spaetzle. It actually works better when you move the guide with a little speed.Even though the device is inexpensive, I think it will last for quite a while in my kitchen. I’m looking forward to trying another spaetzle recipe. (Didn’t care for the particular variety of cheese in Käsknöpfle). The major con of the device is that sometimes the guide seems to stick if you push it all the way to one of the stops. Then it takes a bit of force to unlodge it. Once I got used to using it, I avoided pushing the guide hard into the stops, but this stops the Spaetzle maker from earning 5 stars.I’d recommend the Norpro for those with an occasional need to make Spaetzle. If you are making it every day, you might want to invest a bit more in a tool.