2

I want to understand the difference in using plastic or bronze mould for my Philips 200W pasta maker.

There is option to get a bronze or plastic mould for my machine. I have read the bronze will give more texture so that the pasta can absorb the sauce better.

I am wondering: is the difference so significant? When using a hand wound pasta machine I remember the pasta being good enough and taking on the sauce well enough. Further the bronze can only be cleaned by hand.

A.Dumas
  • 153
  • 4
  • 4
    It is definitely true that a plastic extrusion mold will provide a smoother pasta vs the texture from a bronze extruder. Your question is whether it's "significant" and I'm not sure how to define that other than opinion. Some people might find it "worth it" to pay more for the hand wash only bronze, and others would think plastic was good enough in exchange for the price or convenience. – AMtwo Nov 23 '20 at 13:04
  • 1
    @AMtwo I mostly agree with your comment, but still I think the question is answerable with a comparison of the pros and cons of each material. – csk Nov 24 '20 at 17:59

1 Answers1

2

I don't know how robust the plastic mould for your machine will be, I have had issues with plastic parts breaking on Philips kitchen appliances (always outside of warranty, naturally), so I can't really comment on that. However, depending on the type of pasta you intend to extrude may have a bearing on your choice. The bronze dies were traditionally used for the harder "higher quality" durum semolina pasta that has much more "tooth bite", hence using metal rather than plastic due to the stresses involved. Nowadays, manufacturers use Teflon dies as they are cheaper, but this results in a smooth pasta.

If you are intending on making dense pasta such as penne or conchiglie, semolina flour and a bronze die would be a good choice. If you are looking to make a finer pasta such as vermicelli or spaghetti, the use of 00 flour and a plastic mould would probably be fine.

I would also consider the amount of use the pasta maker will be exposed to. If you are only occasionally going to be making fresh pasta, a brass mould is probably overkill. If you are going to be making penne regularly with semolina rather than 00 flour, the bronze die is probably a better long term investment.

https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/what-is-bronze-cut-pasta-and-is-it-worth-it-article https://fabulouspasta.com/guide/best-pasta-flour/

Greybeard
  • 5,395
  • 1
  • 19
  • 55