Norpro Ravioli Maker With Press 12 Inches, Metallic

If you have or plan to get a pasta machine, this is a must-have. I've had mine for a couple of weeks now and have made cheese and spinach ravioli, which was amazing! It's very easy to use: I went ahead and rolled out my pasta strips, cut them into 4" X 12" rectangles with a plastic ruler and pizza cutter, and stacked them with a little rice flour sprinkled between each to keep them from sticking. Just slap one piece of pasta onto the metal base, press the dough into place with your fingers, and lay the plastic tray that kind of looks like an egg carton on top so you can press it down. It stretches the dough a bit to form the pocket into which you put your filling. Remove the plastic piece and fill your little pockets with the filling (it actually goes pretty quickly). Then place another pasta rectangle on top of this and pat down with your hands. They recommend an egg wash or water brushed along the edges to help seal the two pieces of pasta together, but I did not find this necessary at all. I used a wooden pastry roller and rolled back and forth several times until I could see the metal ravioli edges on the bottom plate come through both layers of pasta dough. Then pull apart gently- no extra cutting required. I made 48 raviolis on my first try- none came apart while being boiled. BTW boiling only takes about two minutes. I pre-heated a large cast iron skillet, tossed in some butter and olive oil, fresh basil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper, and transferred the boiled raviolis with a slotted spoon right into the hot pan. I tossed them gently a bit- just long enough to coat the ravioli and to sear/brown the edges of the pasta a bit for added texture and taste. They were absolutely delicious!!! Only thing to bear in mind is if you have to make a large number of ravioli, it is best to cook them in batches of 12-18 only. Otherwise it takes too long for your water to return to a boil; and your hot fry-pan doesn't get overcrowded. One last thing: The box it comes in is sturdy and great to keep the appliance in. And it has everything you need printed on the back: pasta and filling recipes, instructions, and photos. I highly recommend this.

Just received the ravioli attachment they other day and used it for the first time today to make 90-100 raviolis. I have been making homemade pasta, ravioli's, tortellini, ect for a few years now and have the process down pat. This little guy definitely made the ravioli making process much easier.Now if you're looking for that homemade, non-factory, looking ravioli... this isn't a good choice. What this mold does is produce uniform, consistent ravioli's each and every time IF you use it properly.First things first... use cooking spray. Pasta dough will stick to metal surfaces without something to aid in the release. Simply dusting the mold with flour will not do the trick and the use of a non-stick spray will do nothing to alter the taste or look of your ravioli. So prior to placing your first sheet in the mold, liberally spray the mold (the metal part) with non-stick spray, then proceed with laying your first sheet.Second, after you press the plastic mold over your first sheet to create the dimples, prior to filling, use a pastry brush and wet all of the edges to help promote a good seal. Honestly, there's no reason to mess with an egg wash, but if you feel the need to, more power to you.Third, the filling. I was pretty lucky with judging the amount of filling to use, but I would assume most will use a trial and error. My advice, to make sure not only the thickness of your pasta is right but you haven't overfilled, after you make your first dozen, cook one and see how it is. Normally I use a pastry bag to fill my pasta... but actually with this product, using a spoon was easier, but just my opinion on that.After you fill, lay your top sheet down and lightly run your hands over the top squeezing any air pockets. Dust with a little flour.Now my only gripe with this entire set up is the mold could have had those little rubber feet on the bottoms to prevent slipping, but it does not. Easy fix - use a kitchen towel under the mold to prevent slipping.Use a HEAVY rolling pin to roll these out and seal the pasta. This is very important. After rolling the top sheet, you should see the diamond indention pattern. And run the rolling pin in all directions, really putting pressure on it. This will ensure every ravioli is sealed and will make it easy to separate them.Remove the outer scraps of pasta (they should remove easily if you used the rolling pin correctly), turn the mold over, and lightly push each ravioli out. Once you pop a few out, the rest should follow. They should easily separate with your fingers, but if any stick together use a knife, dough scraper or pizza blade to separate.All in all, this product does what it says... if you take your time and do it the right way. I would say I shaved about 2 hours off of my ravioli making time with this, and was worth every penny.One last tip, make all your pasta sheets first. Roll them out, sprinkle a little flour in between each layer, and keep covered with a damp towel. It really makes the ravioli making process quicker.Mangia!!

I make pasta pretty regularly and I love raviolis but I hate making individual ones because it can take hours. This took a lot of the stress and time out of it.Pros:-Cuts preparation time: The little indenter works wonderfully at making it fit and you get just the right amount of filling portioned out.-Cleans easy: I haven't tried running the metal part through the dishwasher yet but it cleans so easy I haven't had to. The plastic part is even easier to clean.-Sturdy: I'm a natural klutz. I've dropped this thing, accidentally put it on a hot burner, slammed it in a drawer and it still managed to survive.-Simple to use: You don't need a lot of knowledge about past making to make ravioli with this.However...Cons's-Dough can stick-While clean up is easy, if you don't flour both surfaces VERY well the dough can stick and your ravioli's will rip-The little raised grooves don't cut and and it can be a pain: You are meant to roll over this and the little dents cut the shapes. This does not work, or if it does I'm not doing it right. Your best bet is not trimmign the exces of the edges, rolling it it, and then using the excess to remove the raviolis. Otherwise it'll stick.-It is hard to work with hand rolled dough: I have a pasta machine. That makes this a snap. However, if you're rolling out by hand/rolling pin this might be a bit difficult.All in all I am pleased with this purchase and would recommend it to someone who wants to make ravioli without spending a lot of money.