Regina Pasta Maker

I am thoroughly impressed with this little machine. Over the past 30 years I have worn out 4 expensive electric pasta extruders. I did not have high hopes for this one, but when the gears in my last electric one broke I decided to give this one a try. I am delighted to have been wrong. I am more than pleased and have pumped several pounds of dough through this little wonder in the past few weeks.I use a kitchen scale to measure flour and always use a mix of 250 grams semolina, 250 grams of white flour, and 5 eggs. The dough is perfect when it doesn't stick to your fingers. This takes a little practice.The dies are compatible with other machines that have been on the market for years. I was able to salvage a collection of a dozen or more from my older machines to use in addition to the 4 that come with the machine.Things to note:1. Dry dough will break the machine. Too wet and you get globs of pasta that stick together and won't hold shape.2. There are holes to insert the crank into. The top one is a direct drive to the screw, the lower one is geared. ALWAYS use the lower one. The top one takes a LOT of effort and could break the machine.3. Turn the crank gently. It'll last a lot longer. It does take a little more effort than watching a motorized extruder work, but not that much.4. don't over-tighten the die 'nut'. It just needs to be snug. It comes with a wrench. I don't use it, personally, but I have plenty of strength. Just snug it down tight by hand or gently with the wrench.This little guy is the perfect companion for the Marcato Atlas 150. Between the two of them you can make just about any shape pasta imaginable.

Haven't used it yet... Package shipped with the cutting wire broken. Have heard QC is a problem and plastic is poor quality. Not off to a good start.

Fairly easy to use, but even with perfect dough, the pasta is too thick as compared to purchased pasta. It has a different texture and even al dente, it isn’t what you’d expect. I used to have an electric extruder and it made very acceptable tubes, not so thick.Cleaning - the instructions say to let the pasta dry in there and then shake it out. I did manage to clean it this way, but really?Assembly/instructions - not really, more about how to make pasta (duh). There were none about assembly or disassembly.I am sorry I bought this but it’s too late to return. I’m putting it in a box in the garage for now. I paid $129. I am now looking into the Kitchen Aid mixer attachment, what I should have bought instead.

I typically make a 50/50 semolina to all purpose flour pasta and it comes out great for pastas and lasagna noodles. The rigotoni and macaroni work great and we’re really easy to use, though it is hard to use the fast turn setting (takes a lot of effort either way). The fusilli did NOT work very well and required hand twisting of the noodles after extruding which is defeating the whole point of an extruder die at all. As many reviews have stated this takes a lot of effort, kind of thinking I may end up getting the motorized kitchen aid attachment for future. It is all plastic construction, but it pretty sturdy and easy to take apart and clean.

This review is based upon only one use. So far, though, this product is better than I had expected. As many of the reviewers have noted for themselves, I was a little concerned with an all-plastic unit. This product, however, is very high quality and seems to be sturdy and durable. I have the Marcato Atlas pasta machine, which is also very high quality, so I am not surprised at the quality of this product.It was much easier to use than some of the reviews would lead you to believe. I had no problems making Rigatoni. It was even a little faster than I had expected. Once you get into a rhythm of adding dough, turning the handle, and cutting the extruded product, it goes quickly and easily. (And, to be honest, I had a flashback memory to my childhood, playing with my Play-Doh Fun Factory...not a bad thing.) The slow gearing means that turning the handle takes very little effort. And, the best part is, you are rewarded with fresh pasta (which is magnitudes better, in taste and texture, than dried and bagged pasta).I have two very minor issues, though. The first is that the attachment clamp goes on the side while the handle goes in the back. Because the handle moves lower than the work surface, you can use this only on the corner of a table because both the side clamp and the back handle go below the surface. At least in my kitchen, this limits its use to an area other than the food preparation area. The other issue concerns removing the extruder for cleaning. Although the instructions say to run the handle backwards after making pasta, that reverse pressure was not enough to release the extruder for cleaning. I had to use a wooden spoon and some pressure to finally release it.None of these issues, however, would keep me from recommending this product. If you want to make fresh pasta beyond noodles, I cannot think of a less expensive and higher quality product that will get you there.================ UPDATE - September 2016 ==============After many more months of use, I rate this even higher, now. (It was four stars, now it's five.) The problem with releasing the extruder was, most likely, because the product was new and had tight tolerances and my dough was not the right consistency. From the second use on, no problems. Yes, I still wish my kitchen could handle the clamp and crank with my countertop setup, but that's no reason to downgrade the review.I continue to be amazed by the ease of use and the quality of the pasta. If I have the time to do it right, it's no more commercial dried pasta for us; it's fresh pasta! It makes a huge difference in taste and texture.