MomSkoop
Making pasta at home doesn’t have to mean sticking to the same old shapes every time. While fettuccine and lasagna are delicious, the world of pasta offers so many exciting varieties that can transform your kitchen adventures. With the right tools, you can create restaurant-quality pasta shapes that will impress your family and friends while exploring authentic Italian traditions.
1. Eppicotispai Chitarra Pasta Cutter
Picture strings of guitar wire stretched across a wooden frame, but instead of making music, this tool creates perfect square spaghetti. The chitarra gets its name from the Italian word for guitar because of its wire construction.
Rolling pasta dough over these taut wires cuts it into uniform strands with slightly rough edges that grab sauce beautifully. Each piece comes out with four distinct sides rather than the round shape of regular spaghetti.
This traditional Abruzzo tool transforms simple egg pasta into something special that holds onto hearty meat sauces and rich ragùs with impressive tenacity.
2. Zelli Pasta Mattarello Rolling Pin
Forget everything you know about regular rolling pins because this Italian beauty operates on a completely different level. Measuring nearly three feet long and crafted from single pieces of hardwood, the mattarello demands respect and technique.
Professional pasta makers in Bologna swear by these lengthy tools for creating paper-thin sheets of dough. The extended length allows for broader, more even pressure distribution across large portions of pasta dough.
Learning to use one properly takes practice, but once mastered, you’ll roll out silky sheets for tortellini, ravioli, and lasagna that rival any Italian grandmother’s handiwork.
3. Eppicotispai Garganelli and Gnocchi Stripper with Paddle
Two tools in one make this ridged board and wooden paddle combination a smart investment for pasta enthusiasts. The textured surface creates beautiful ridges on both garganelli tubes and potato gnocchi.
For garganelli, you roll small pasta squares diagonally around the paddle while pressing against the ridged board. The result looks like penne but with delicate ridges that capture sauce in every groove.
Gnocchi lovers will appreciate how the ridged surface creates perfect little pillows with textured surfaces. The included paddle helps maintain consistent pressure, ensuring each piece gets those important sauce-grabbing grooves that make homemade pasta superior to store-bought versions.
4. La Gondola Homemade Pasta Cutters
Sharp wheels attached to comfortable handles make cutting fresh pasta sheets feel like using a pizza cutter, but with far more precision. Multiple cutting options let you create various widths from thin angel hair to broad pappardelle.
The fluted wheels add decorative edges to ravioli and other stuffed pastas, creating professional-looking crimped seals. Straight wheels work perfectly for clean cuts on lasagna sheets and rectangular pasta shapes.
Built to last with stainless steel cutting wheels, these tools maintain their sharpness through countless pasta-making sessions. The ergonomic handles reduce hand fatigue during longer cooking projects, making fresh pasta production much more enjoyable and efficient.
5. La Divina Hand Crank Machine for Gnocchetti Sardi, Cavatelli and Orecchiette
Cranking out perfect Southern Italian pasta shapes becomes effortless with this specialized machine that handles three distinct regional favorites. Each shape requires different dough consistency, but the machine adapts beautifully to various recipes.
Gnocchetti sardi emerges with characteristic ridges and curves that mimic hand-rolled versions. Cavatelli comes out with perfect little shells that cup sauce naturally, while orecchiette forms those distinctive “little ears” beloved in Puglia.
The hand crank provides complete control over speed and pressure, allowing you to adjust technique for different dough textures. This machine brings authentic regional Italian pasta shapes to home kitchens without requiring years of hand-shaping practice.
6. Costante Imports Pettine Traditional Garganelli Board
Authentic garganelli requires this traditional ridged board called a pettine, which literally means “comb” in Italian. The parallel ridges create the signature texture that distinguishes real garganelli from similar-looking pasta shapes.
Working with small squares of egg pasta, you roll each piece diagonally across the ridges using a thin dowel or pencil. The technique takes patience, but creates pasta tubes with both internal and external texture.
Emilia-Romagna cooks have used these boards for generations, passing down techniques along with family recipes. The ridged pattern isn’t just decorative – it serves the practical purpose of holding sauce better than smooth pasta surfaces, creating more flavorful bites.
7. QB Cucina Brass Pasta Ferretto
This thin brass rod might look simple, but it’s essential for creating several traditional pasta shapes including fusilli, scialatielli, and certain types of maccheroni. The smooth metal surface allows pasta dough to slide perfectly during shaping.
Rolling small pieces of dough around the ferretto creates hollow tubes and spirals with consistent thickness. The brass material conducts slight warmth from your hands, making the dough more pliable and easier to work.
Professional pasta makers prefer brass over wood or plastic because it doesn’t absorb flavors or moisture from the dough. The tool develops a natural patina over time, becoming smoother and more effective with regular use, making it a long-term kitchen investment.
8. Fante’s Cavatelli Machine
Dedicated specifically to cavatelli production, this machine churns out perfect little shells faster than any hand-rolling technique. The curved metal plates shape each piece of dough into those characteristic cupped forms that Italians love.
Simply feed small portions of dough through the machine and watch as uniform cavatelli emerges from the other side. The consistent size ensures even cooking, while the traditional shape holds chunky vegetable sauces beautifully.
Built with durable materials that handle regular use, this machine pays for itself quickly if you’re a cavatelli fan. The shells it produces rival those made by hand, with perfect curves and thickness that cook evenly every time you prepare this beloved Southern Italian pasta.
9. Imperia 12-Square Ravioli Maker
Creating perfect ravioli squares becomes foolproof with this aluminum tray that forms twelve uniform pockets simultaneously. The precise dimensions ensure consistent cooking times and professional presentation every single time.
Layer pasta dough over the tray, press it into the squares, add your filling, then cover with another dough sheet. Rolling over the top seals each ravioli with clean, defined edges that won’t burst during cooking.
The individual compartments prevent filling from spreading between ravioli, maintaining distinct flavors in each piece. Whether you’re making cheese, meat, or vegetable fillings, this tool creates restaurant-quality results that impress dinner guests while streamlining your pasta-making process significantly.
10. QB Cucina Open Round Brass Pasta Stamp
Brass stamps create decorative edges on stuffed pastas while ensuring secure seals that prevent filling from leaking during cooking. The open round design works perfectly for tortellini, agnolotti, and small ravioli variations.
Press the stamp firmly around filled pasta pieces to create beautiful fluted edges that look professionally made. The brass construction provides clean cuts through multiple dough layers without tearing or dragging.
Beyond functionality, these stamps add visual appeal to homemade pasta dishes, creating restaurant-quality presentation at home. The decorative edges aren’t just pretty – they actually help seal the pasta more effectively than simple pinching, reducing the chance of filling escaping into the cooking water.
11. Wooden Mold Garganelli, Cavarola, Gnocchi, and Cavatelli Fresh Pasta Board
Versatility defines this multi-purpose wooden board that handles four different pasta shapes with equal skill. Different sections of the board feature various textures and ridge patterns optimized for specific pasta types.
The garganelli section provides fine ridges, while the gnocchi area offers deeper grooves for more pronounced texture. Cavatelli and cavarola sections feature curves and indentations that shape dough into perfect regional forms.
Crafted from hardwood that improves with age, this board becomes a family heirloom that gets passed down through generations. The natural wood surface develops a smooth patina over time, making pasta shaping easier and more enjoyable with each use while maintaining authentic Italian pasta-making traditions.
12. Williams Sonoma Corzetti Stamps
These decorative stamps transform simple pasta dough into edible medallions that look like ancient coins bearing intricate designs. Traditional Ligurian corzetti gets pressed between two wooden discs, creating raised patterns on both sides.
The stamps typically feature family crests, floral motifs, or geometric patterns that turn each pasta piece into individual artwork. Rolling the dough to proper thickness becomes crucial for achieving clear, detailed impressions.
Serving corzetti feels like presenting edible history, as these stamps replicate designs used by Italian nobility centuries ago. The textured surface created by stamping helps sauce adhere better, combining practical cooking benefits with stunning visual presentation that makes dinner feel like a special occasion.