Philips HR2665/96

You fill this pasta machine with the flour that you like best. 7000 weighs flour as soon as you put it in the machine and the display shows you how much liquid you can add. This can be water, egg, pesto, tomato juice, beetroot juice, or your secret recipe that will be added to this. This pasta machine determines the kneading times itself and after a period of kneading, the direction of the kneading hooks reverses and the worm wheel then presses the dough through one of the chosen shapes. As soon as the pasta comes through the mold you can cut the pasta at the desired length. This is then up to the user to determine a desired length. A great activity and this part resembles the old-fashioned way of making pasta. The number of shapes is honestly more than sufficient, there are 10 different shapes and you can use them to make spaghetti, fettuccini, penne, lasagna, thick spaghetti, capellini or also called angel hair, tagiatelle, pappardelle, pasta shells and paccheri. The choice is huge. The result is a very beautiful pasta and it is amazing that the lasagna sheets come out so beautifully and the pasta shells are also a great example of refined engineering by the makers. If the pasta does not come out to your liking, catch the first pasta, pause the pasta machine and put it back in the machine. Then you start the machine again to see beautiful pasta come out of the mold. And then there's always the most fun part of it all, preparing and eating the pasta. The preparation is as easy as preparing pasta that you buy from the supermarket shelves. The taste is of course completely tailored to your own style, super fresh and very tasty. As you have chosen in your own style. Cleaning for most parts is simple. The dishwasher is your friend and cleans the parts. With that said, I do think that cleaning the molds takes the most time. There are various tools provided by the manufacturer that make it easier to clean the parts. That's nice. The pasta machine is not too big and it is no problem to have it visible on the counter. For us it is certainly a good purchase and we are far from done experimenting.

I don't like this appliance because it is fragile. The vulnerability lies in the built-in scale. If that scale breaks (or: no longer gives correct values), you can throw the appliance away. That's what happened to me today. Of course, I'll send the machine to Philips and maybe they'll send me a new one. But I don't care: there's simply a design flaw in the appliance. The very first question is of course: why on earth does someone buy a pasta machine? Well, for four reasons, namely: 1. Because you're an Italian mom; 2. Because you're fed up with Barilla and Grand'Italia products and because you think they're ripping you off; 3. Because you think homemade pasta tastes better; 4. Because you simply enjoy making pasta. Arguments 1 and 4 are unbeatable. Every Italian mom thinks she makes the best pasta in the world. And every Dutch mom values coziness highly. There is no arguing with Italian and Dutch mothers about this. Let them have their delusions, otherwise it will no longer be fun. Back to the Philips pasta machine. Why is it such a bad product? It is mainly due to the automatic scale. That is the core of the system and it is a vulnerable system that can easily get confused! That happened to me today. I had to put so much flour in the mixing container that I thought: this is not right. And that was true: I had to put much more flour in it than necessary. Then the device does not want to knead and that is exactly what it is all about. In the past, bakers also kneaded their bread, but they have not done that for a long time. Why would you knead pasta dough manually in your kitchen for half an hour? Then you are crazy, aren't you?! In short: if you buy a Philips pasta machine and the scale breaks, you can throw it away with the trash. If that scale continues to function properly, then you have a good pasta machine. I won't get around to discussing arguments 2 and 3. If I did, it would make for a hilarious story. About pasta and how it's not that easy to make good pasta with a Philips Pasta Machine. Some tricks are needed for that.

I was allowed to test this pasta machine for a few weeks. I was very curious about the fresh pasta from this machine, and how easy it would be to make. Using the machine is very simple. Read the manual carefully once and you will know. The machine weighs how much flour you have put in it and then indicates how much liquid should be added. I find that really handy! Then it is up to you whether you choose pasta with or without egg. You indicate this on the device, and the rest is almost automatic. The manual states fresh pasta within 10 minutes. That is reasonably correct, but then you should not count the assembly of the machine with the desired disc and the further preparation. A downside I find is that quite a bit of dough remains in the mixing bowl. The device thinks it is ready, but there is often still a large lump of dough. I think that is a shame. You can choose to let the device only press a few more times. Then it will still press out some, but the bowl will never be completely empty. The fresh pasta, on the other hand, is delicious! Everyone in our house agrees on that. They don't really want pasta from a bag anymore. Whether it's fresh spaghetti, tagliatelle, lasagna or fettuccine. It all tastes equally good. That, combined with the ease of use, makes it a pleasant appliance for me.