Marcato Atlas 150 red, Alloy

While it may be a little more expensive than some other brands, this is a really good quality product that feels like it will last a long time (but somewhat like a gremlin, it must never be washed with water! This doesn't matter though because it never really gets 'dirty' as such).In-case it's not clear, the product does come with both a wider tagliatelle style cutter and a narrower spaghetti sized cutter (in one), which is removable and can be replaced by other attachments if you can find where to purchase them.The rollers are smooth and the cutters slice through the dough like a knife through butter. Just looking at it you can see what they mean with the 'wellness' branding in that the metal isn't the kind to leave deposits in your food.The red casing is a little darker than it may appear on screen, not the bright red I was expecting, but the finish is still exquisite to look at and it is well built and sturdy.The clamp is strong and doesn't move at-all, in fact I kept lifting the worktop off the cupboard when rolling, should probably sort the kitchen out a bit.The basic recipe isn't particularly comprehensive if you've never made pasta, although in many ways it's much simpler and more enjoyable than I expected. You can find a hundred recipes and they'll all be slightly different, but the gist of it is the same, as long as your dough is not too dry and not too wet it will roll and cut fine. (from my limited experience one egg per 100g strong white bread flour is just right). The first time I made pasta I put 3 eggs in 400g and it was really too dry and kept getting holes when I was rolling, but it still worked out ok (albeit I had muscle ache for days afterwards), the next time worked out so much better with the extra egg and rolling was far quicker.If you ever roll the rollers backwards with a bit of pasta in there, you will probably get a bit of pasta inside between the casing and the rollers which will be a hassle to get out, but this will be the case with any roller I would think.

After watching the video I knew I needed to look no further. I think the key is to get you pasta mix right by following the instructions in the included book.Once you've done that to use the machine is just as easy as the video. You will need both the shaker pot and the dryer as well. After making the pasta the machine is very easy to clean by just dusting it off with a pastry brush, no water needed. Its a really well made and designed machine that will last a long time.

I bought this machine more in hope than expectation. I wouldn't consider myself much more than a dabbler in things culinary. I fancied the idea of making my own pasta but wasn't sure if I'd be able to. I did a little bit of research on pasta doughs and picked up some tips about keeping the dough away from the air etc. Armed with this knowledge off I went to make pasta. What a brilliant success :). The best part was the way the kids joined in. Feeding the pasta through the rollers would have been a bit finicky without the aid of my daughter who cranked the handle. If you are making pasta on your own consider buying the additional motor to drive the machine. The machine looks great, functioned perfectly and was well built. We had great fun making and eating our own pasta.

The Italian green colour is so beautiful!

After only ordering the machine yesterday morning, I have just received it today! Fast delivery! Although, I havent used it yet, the silver logo was missing and I found it in the bottom of the box but Ive glued it back on and when I turn the handle, it makes a ticking noise at a certain point continuously so yet to find out if this is normal or not. The machine had been put in the box upside down which cause the silver logo to come off also there was hardly any paper inside the box to support it from moving around which means it would have been moving around alot which could have caused the two faults. Box was to big and not enough support inside. It does look good though. Have just spoken Amazon and they told me to order a new one (which I did) and I will receive in the morning! (its now just after 6pm! great fast service mind!)and Yodel are picking up the other one tomorrow as well and to refund me. Fingers crossed this one is OK! I know I will love this item regardless and with being Italian, it will be a staple in my home! OK...received the second one and this was also upside down in the box like the first one (why they put it in upside down I will never know!) so I knew before I opened it that the silver logo would be off, and it was, but just glued it back on again. Keeping this one as it seems fine but not making pasta with it for another month when the husband is back from work.

We have now used this maker for enough time to make a judgement.We brought this machine as the previous one went rusty. I do not think this will be an issue with this one.The maker is well made and does not feel cheap. We were prepared to pay the extra given our experience with the last one.Critically it is easy to clean (as far as they can be).For us it is used once a week and it makes sense for us to pay the extra but this may not be relevant for everybody who might want to experiment ( I would suggest borrowing one in that case).All in all this is a good mid range maker likely to last, but as always it’s value is in the frequency of usage and so many kitchen items remain under used.