A pasta cutter is a kitchen tool for cutting pasta dough into a variety of shapes. Pasta cutters come in a variety of styles, from attachments for pasta machines to hand-held kitchen utensils, and they’re all designed to make very specific pasta shapes. Pasta cutters are frequently available at kitchen supply stores, and they can also be ordered from specialty purveyors; in the case of pasta cutters that attach to pasta machines, the machine’s manufacturer is often a good source of information about compatible pasta cutters.
While pasta dough can be cut by hand, using a pasta cutter has some distinct advantages. To begin with, a pasta cutter ensures that each piece of pasta is the same width, resulting in consistent cooking time. It also results in a neater end product, as pasta pieces of varying widths don’t always look appealing. Cutting the dough with a pasta cutter is also much faster than cutting it by hand, which can be a significant benefit when making a large quantity of pasta.
The cutting mechanism of a pasta cutter that attaches to a pasta machine is housed on rollers that are housed inside an attachment that snaps on to the pasta machine. The pasta cutter is operated by inserting and turning a crank, which moves the rollers. The pasta dough is then fed through the rollers, where it is cut as it is pulled through, yielding identical strands of pasta that can be cooked right away or dried later, depending on the cook’s needs.
A hand-held pasta cutter is usually shaped like a roller with a handle attached to it. Cooks lay out the dough on the counter and press the pasta cutter into it while pushing it across the dough, leaving neat ribbons of pasta behind. Extra-wide pasta cutters are also available, which are used to cut the dough for tortellini and ravioli, as well as lasagna noodles.
Ravioli can also be crimped and cut with roller pasta cutters. The ravioli dough is laid out in this case, the filling is applied, and the top layer of dough is carefully deposited on top. The pasta cutter is then quickly rolled across the dough in straight lines, crimping the dough around the filling and cutting out the individual raviolis as it goes. Ravioli attachments for pasta machines are also available, in which the two layers of dough and filling are fed through the rollers together.
A pasta cutter known as a chitarra, or guitar, can also be found in some parts of Italy, referring to the design, which consists of taut wires strung across a frame. Cooks lay a sheet of dough across the strings and then press down with a roller, forcing the dough through and cutting it in the process.