Best Overall
Pagilo Pasta Drying Rack
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Are you planning to start making your own pasta? You're going to need more equipment than just flour and eggs. Pasta drying racks are essential to make pasta, allowing you to hang them to air dry before cooking. This method will make sure the pasta doesn’t clump together, making sure each of your pasta dishes is delicious. However, choosing the right pasta drying rack is confusing. But we’ve done the hard work for you and narrowed in on the essential features to consider. Plus we’ve shortlisted some of our favorites, with the PAGILO Pasta Drying Rack leading our recommendations as our top pick. Take a look below to learn more and get cooking!
Buyer’s Guide for Choosing a Pasta Drying Rack
Making pasta is no easy feat. You need quite a lot of equipment to pull it off, like pasta strainers. After putting your pasta through a pasta roller or a pasta press, the next step is to hang it up to air dry on a pasta drying rack. With many different pasta drying racks available on the market, it can be challenging and overwhelming to choose the right product. Choosing the wrong pasta drying rack will not only cause the handmade pasta to dry unevenly, but it will also ruin your dish completely. Therefore, we recommend considering the following factors when purchasing a pasta drying rack to make sure you get exactly the product you need for your pasta-cooking needs.
What to Consider When Choosing a Pasta Drying Rack
Height
Pasta drying racks can be used for drying multiple types of pasta, such as fettuccine, spaghetti, and large lasagne sheets. Based on the total length of pasta noodles or sheets you prefer to make, you need to decide the height of the product. If you like to cook long fettuccine pasta or lasagne sheets, we recommend choosing a rack with a height of 16.5 inches or more. For making average-length pasta, a drying stand with a height of less than 16.5 inches should work fine. Just make sure that the product is tall enough to prevent the hung pasta ends from coming in contact with the countertop.
Base
If your chosen pasta drying rack features a flat base, make sure it is large enough to stabilize the entire product and prevent it from toppling over after all of the pasta and sheets have been hung. We recommend picking a product with a weighted base and a size of 7/8 inches. This will ensure that your pasta drying stand won’t tip or topple and will retain its balance even when full of fresh, heavy pasta.
Number of arms and rods
The next thing you need to focus on is the number of rods or arms the pasta drying rack has. Some products have 10 long arms that radiate from the center stand in different directions. On the other hand, there are a few racks that come with four long rods. Once you slide them through the holes in the stand, you will have eight arms to hang pasta noodles and sheets on. You need to decide whether you want eight or 10 arms on your pasta drying rack based on the number of portions you plan to cook.
Feet
Some pasta drying racks have reinforced feet rather than a flat base. If you choose one of these products, make sure that the feet are oriented in such a way that the entire rack is balanced equally on all sides. Also, we recommend choosing a rack that has four rubber, non-slip feet as it will offer more stability and balance regardless of how many pasta noodle strips or sheets you hang on its arms.
Storage and portability
Make sure you choose a pasta drying rack that is lightweight so that you can easily store or transport it. If you have a shortage of space in your kitchen, a pasta drying rack with a collapsible structure is ideal. This way, you can fold down the arms and reduce its overall size so that it can fit in any corner of the kitchen or inside a drawer or cabinet.
Arm and rod orientation
Pasta drying racks are meant to dry handmade pasta so that the noodles or sheets don’t stick to each other or form a clump. Because of this, they usually have their arms or rods oriented in such a manner that no pasta noodle or sheet comes in contact with other pieces and sticks to them. This type of orientation allows for faster, more even drying without leaving any wet or moist spots on the pasta.
Choosing the Right Material
Rubberwood
Rubberwood is a medium-density hardwood that is highly durable and can withstand a lot of weight. Therefore, a drying rack made of this unfinished rubberwood is ideal for drying a large amount of pasta at once. Due to its roughness, the pasta noodles or sheets are unlikely to slip off. What’s more, this material is sustainable and eco-friendly. However, keep in mind that rubberwood can easily absorb moisture and become damp. If you store the product in this condition, it will start to swell and may not last for very long. We recommend also allowing these racks to dry out completely before storing.
Beech wood
Beachwood is far stronger than rubberwood and can last for a long time. Because it has less porosity there won’t be any signs of dampness or internal mold growth on these pasta drying racks. However, the material is heavy, which might cause problems if you plan to transport this drying rack or are looking for an easily portable option.
ABS plastic
Food-grade ABS plastic is a common material used for manufacturing collapsible pasta drying racks. Because it’s food-grade, these racks won’t contaminate your pasta noodles with chemicals or toxins. However, keep in mind that even though ABS plastic is a durable material, these racks won’t be able to hold very much pasta at once.
How to Use a Pasta Drying Rack
To use a pasta drying rack, simply follow these easy steps:
- If your chosen pasta drying stand has rods, slide them through the holes in the stand and make sure that the arms on both sides have an equal length.
- If you’ve chosen a collapsible drying stand, unfold the arms and secure them properly in individual slots at the top of the stand.
- Change the orientation of the legs appropriately so that the rack is stable and properly balanced.
- Now you can hang the pasta noodles and sheets on the arms of the rack. Make sure not to overload the drying stand or it may fall over.
Average Cost of a Pasta Drying Rack Cost
The cost of a pasta drying rack varies between $11 to $20. However, the price depends on multiple factors. For instance, the most expensive pasta drying racks are rubberwood racks and the cheapest racks are made from ABS plastic or beech wood. What’s more, if you need a large drying rack for drying a significant amount of noodles at one time the cost will be higher than choosing a smaller drying rack.
Top Picks
- Best Overall: Pagilo Pasta Drying Rack
- Best Design: Bellemain Wooden Pasta Drying Rack
- Most Innovative: Nuvantee Pasta Drying Rack
- Best Material: Goziah Pasta Drying Rack
- Best Value: Ourokhome Foldable Pasta Drying Rack
- Most Eco-Friendly: Norpro Wooden Pasta Drying Rack
- Most Colorful: Ipstyle Plastic Pasta Drying Rack
Reviews
Best Design
Bellemain Wooden Pasta Drying Rack
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Most Innovative
Nuvantee Pasta Drying Rack
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Best Material
Goziah Pasta Drying Rack
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Best Value
Ourokhome Foldable Pasta Drying Rack
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Most Eco-Friendly
Norpro Wooden Pasta Drying Rack
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Most Colorful
Ipstyle Plastic Pasta Drying Rack
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FAQs
How do I clean my pasta drying rack?
To clean your pasta drying rack, you can either wash it using water or wipe the surfaces down with a wet cloth. Do not put the rack in the dishwasher as most pasta drying racks are not dishwasher-safe.
Where should I store my pasta drying rack?
As most pasta drying racks have a compact size, you can store them easily in a corner of the kitchen on the countertop. You can also fold many of these racks up, or dissemble them, for easy storage inside a kitchen cabinet or in a drawer.
Can I spin a pasta drying rack?
No, you cannot spin a pasta drying rack because the arms are fixed to the center stand. To check if the pasta noodles or sheets are dry, you must do it individually.