Written by There are few things as useful in your kitchen as a quality pasta maker. If you like Italian food and you like cooking, there is nothing quite like the taste of fresh homemade pasta. In fact, for a lot of cooks, the only downside is trying to clean the darn thing. It can be a real pain in the neck! But with a few simple tips, you can make it close to effortless.
The question of how to clean your pasta machine tends to arise in the case of stainless steel versions. Unlike their counterparts made of plastic, you can’t simply drop these items into a dish washer or a sink full of soapy water. You’ve got to find another way.
Depending on the texture of the dough that you put through them, pasta makers can get quite dirty. And removing all that sticky material from the rollers and other pieces is a real challenge. The key is not to even try doing it until it has dried. I’ll let my machine wait five hours or more before I even bother going after it. Why? Because when the pasta dough has dried, you can scrape it off much easier. Particles of dough in hard to reach places can be pried out with a tooth pick.
After I’ve gotten most of the dough off with that method, I’ll use a cloth lightly moistened with warm water and wash the entire machine. After it dries, I put it away on the shelf. If I plan to use it again within the week, I leave it uncovered. If not, I’ll lay a clean dish towel over it to prevent dust from accumulating.
The whole process takes ten minutes at most. And the best thing about it is that I get to spend more time whipping up delicious pasta and less time ranting over hard it is to clean!
