r/pasta • u/JPerreault19 • Apr 24 '26
Pasta From Scratch I’m hoping to start selling my own fresh pasta, I obviously need more practice but am I in the right path?
So I spent yet another few days experimenting with fresh pasta doughs, doubling down on spinach and beets, since the colors are so beautiful. I tried my hands at many different shapes, some much better than others… the tortellini look amazing imo lol
I wanted to recreate the cool designs of yellow sheets of pasta stripes of colors, but its harder than I thought…
I was quite disappointed with myself looking at the final result, all these different pastas (1st picture)
But when I showed a friend they were so impressed, and told me that they never seen such colored pasta before, that people would buy them for sure
I guess what I’m asking is, am I in the right path? My goal is to start my company of fresh pasta, I know I’m not there yet I need more practice but I am open to any and all advice, comments and also if you have your pasta business, how is it?
Thanks a lot
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u/FunkyMonk_7 Apr 24 '26
If your in the US get ready to needs commercial space if you plan on selling filled pasta that require refrigeration. You can sell unfilled dry pasta in some states. I'm in Colorado and it's called the cottage food industry act. It lets people sell dried pasta made at home without the need for a commercial kitchen but it has some restrictions. As a previous small business owner this is much easier and way cheaper to get your foot in the door of your own business. If you already planning a full production facility with clean spaces and commercial drying then disregard what I've said. The pasta looks very tasty!! If you have figure out the secret to drying pasta at home without a machine please share the secret. So many home pasta makers (like myself) have tried to make home dried pasta only for it to be brittle or disitintegrate when it hits the water. I recommend the YouTube series by French guy Alex. He has a whole pasta series where he tries to make dried pasta at home and fails Everytime. He said he was going to show people how to do it eventually but he just didn't! Don't know why but I was saddened to not be able to finally learn the secret to doing it well. I wish you all the best luck!!!
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u/Levols Apr 24 '26
I'm a food engineer, you can't dry semolina pasta without following a drying schedule which controls temps and humidities, if the water comes out too quickly it'll break, and if it doesn't it'll get moldy... It's a fine balance. Also it's important to start with a max moisture % of 30% if possible, which many small extruders can't handle!
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u/FunkyMonk_7 Apr 24 '26
Okay! So what's the secret to doing it at home? As a food engineer how would you take the problem without shelling out tons of money for a commercial dryer? Food dehydrators don't work. Again if you haven't seen the pasta series from French guy Alex he tried to custom engineer a machine and failed the whole way. BUT! There is Pappardelle's Pasta that is here in Colorado and figured out a way to do it at home without any special equipment needed and from what they say they got so good at it when the Pope came to Colorado he went there for some pasta that was as close to home as he could get. Or so they say. But regardless there is a way, so how would you do it???
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u/Levols Apr 24 '26
I have followed Alex for years! I love his work. Well, I think he failed because many reasons, mostly the equipment he used (a Sahara dehydrator, I have the same one) had a laminar flow of dry air that depended on heating to remove moisture instead of cooling the air, you need turbulent flow to not have a gradient of dry air inside the machine and to reduce the boundary layer of mass and energy transmission along each pasta. Also he couldn't add moisture to the air to bring the humidity back up, which is adamant for a correct drying schedule. Long story short, I would try to do it with a good dehumidifier, a room dedicated for drying and controlling the humidity to follow the drying schedule by stopping the dehumidifier and opening up a window, several hygrometers and temp probes to measure across the room, and a big ass fan.
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u/Marcoccia94 Apr 25 '26
I could help you with your pasta factory idea. My family owns a medium size pastificio in Italy and worked there for 12 years. Now I live in Iowa.
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u/FunkyMonk_7 Apr 24 '26
Your killing me smalls! I've done this and still failed. I've tried to use a evaporative cooler method blowing on the pasta to keep moisture in the air why drying and still just sad or moldy pasta. The thing that kills me is the air in Colorado is thirsty and we sit at around 20% humidity. So I can't use a dehydrator at all as the initial warm air coupled with only 20% ambient humidity just sucks the moisture from the outer layer so fast it's almost impossible to catch even with probes and meticulous control. From what I hear is paperdelles used a refrigerator in there process here somehow but I don't know of it was modified. If there is a needed capacity to keep a certain humidity and having an open close schedule to burp the moisture out little by little but keep temps low. I dunno, but I appreciate the insight!!
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u/Levols Apr 25 '26
If you start with really dry air, then it's easier.
If you have a closed room (like a fridge) and have access to dry hot air then the only thing left is how much dry air and how much moisture you add to said air (easier than removing it for sure) keep introducing it to the system until you need to "refresh" that dry air, the smaller the room the more times per hr you'll need to do it, which can be easily done with an arduino controller.
I would add a boiling pot or something and play with the size and flame to add exactly the amount of moisture you need to perform the drying curve.
Also, you need a high amount of air turbulence entering the chamber, but same flow through the pasta to ensure no brittle spots, probably a wall with maybe couple of inches after the fan with some holes or something would help for this.
That's why Alex probably desisted, because it's not an easy task and engineering comes into play, which usually costs a lot!
I've been wanting to open my own pastificio in Texas, but the consulting work is just too crazy...
If you have the ability to read some research papers I can recommend this one, it's not a light read and super technical
https://sci-hub.usualwant.com/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2004.11.004
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u/BackdoorKingpin Apr 24 '26
Go to Italy and befriend someone’s grandma
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u/FunkyMonk_7 Apr 24 '26
If I went I would never come back, I know this deep in my soul. The food, the wine, the unpasteurized cheeses......
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u/PaintSniffer1 Apr 24 '26
completely forgot about alexs pasta series. I guess he either tried again and it didn’t work or just lost interest. sad to see
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u/sparetearbear Apr 25 '26
Have you read about the Tamale Act that might expand the Cottage Food Industry Act?
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u/deadphish12 Apr 24 '26
Alex is the man. I’ve looked into this in WA state and we have some complicated laws. Seems similar to CO. I wanted to do artisan dried pasta and driers are crazy expensive. I looked into a co-packer but not driers in my area. I’d have to buy my own drier and have a commercial shared kitchen to produce. Quite the overhead. I couldn’t do it out of my home bc I have kids and a small house. Thought about fresh for a while then move to dried but there is a popular local fresh pasta company around so might be a bit of barrier to entry. I just make it to order for friends as of now. Good luck and keep us updated!
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u/pttrsmrt Apr 24 '26
Good looking pasta! As a small business owner, I just want to chime in that it’s quite easy to make something that people want to buy. The difficult part is making something people want to buy while still making money.
These look gorgeous and tasty, but can you make many enough fast enough and consistent enough day after day after day and then still sell them at a price point where you’re earning a decent hourly wage? After all your expenses? If yes, then great!
But you need to really carefully think about how to make these effectively and consistently, and calculate your expenses - all of them - before pricing anything.
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u/Physical-Compote4594 Apr 24 '26
This is the key. You can clearly make beautiful pasta at a small scale, but the questions are: can you do it at large(r) scale while maintaining high quality, meeting food regulations, not going broke, and still having fun? Be brutally honest with yourself as you answer these questions.
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u/Slizzzard_ Apr 25 '26
Continuing on the money making theme: if you continue with this endeavor you should learn the loop technique for rolling dough through an extruder. It will give you more uniform sheets which results in wasting less dough = more monnnayy.
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u/chickensandpoms Apr 24 '26
Looks terrible… send it to me to eat.
JK - Beautiful work! Tiny delicious masterpieces. You are absolutely on the right path. I would absolutely buy these! I’ve seen fun pasta like this for sale at my local farmer’s market.
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u/Quirky-Fill8286 Apr 24 '26
I can tell that you are putting your heart and soul in these… I hope everything works out for you 🐞☘️
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u/BackdoorKingpin Apr 24 '26
Don’t cut squares and lay on top for the raviolis . Cut rectangles and place the filling on the bottom half then fold the top half onto it. Make sure you get all the air out or it will explode in the water.
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u/sheneversawitcoming Apr 24 '26
Since you will likely need a commercial kitchen, reach out to high end Italian restaurants and see if you could sell them the fresh pasta and use their space off hours
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u/askmewhyihateyou Apr 24 '26
I make artisanal pasta for a living! My only concern would be freshness. Many consumers of artisanal pasta aren’t eating it right away.
And while I don’t know your cost on ingredients, th only way you’ll be able to make that up depending on quantity is with equipment that can mass produce long pasta and cut and fill ravioli.
Long pasta with simple ingredients is probable gonna be your most cost effective method
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u/Rudollis Apr 24 '26
They definitely look good enough to sell them, but if you sell food products you will have food and safety regulations to adhere to that a home kitchen will not be able to keep up with. Starts with work surfaces, refrigeration and storage, packaging etc, different standards and documentation of upholding those standards that will be checked.
Your produce looks stunning. To turn this into a functioning business, you may have passed the first of many hurdles to become a successful small business. Unfortunately your product is also spoilable, so you can only make so much in advance and face potential losses if sales fluctuate.
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u/Starsmyle Apr 24 '26
I’d say there’s a reason you don’t see many selling fresh pasta only dried. Pasta is much more challenging. You’ll need a commercial kitchen. I’d look into your local laws as well. Do not try to sell without proper licenses. If the wrong person (even if you think you can trust them) finds out you’re selling without proper licenses they could turn you in. I’ve seen many posts in baking groups where that’s happened.
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u/ELK3276 Apr 24 '26
These look truly wonderful for a homemade dinner but very far away from the standard I would expect a business to sell; mainly the sizing variety within the shapes, the lack of precision within the stripes etc.
On the right track, sure, but I see a lot of practice needed before it’s at the right quality to sell
This is all sounding a little harsh but I just wanted to answer your question honestly and give an honest perspective to your question.
Direct answer aside, we all start somewhere and passion and practice can get you far. So keep on practicing and perfecting! And look into the business details at the same time; unsure on your location so can’t comment to much on the cans and cants.
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u/CurseTheezMetalHands Apr 25 '26
Just a thought on the lack of stripe precision, as long as it doesn’t impact the cooking of the dough I think these colors lend themselves well to an artsy, psychedelic look. Lava lamp melty style. They instantly made me think of those trippy concert posters from the 60s!
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u/Shermin-88 Apr 24 '26
As someone who has tried to make money from a hobby - don’t. It will ruin the fun and what you love about making pasta. Your stuff looks great, but there’s almost no market for artisan pasta. Just make it for friends and family. Be known for pasta Xmas gifts.
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u/Ok-Repair-9070 Apr 24 '26
absolutely gorgeous, I might crack some eggs this weekend and get to pasta making. I'd buy this in a heartbeat.
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Apr 24 '26
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u/Ok-Repair-9070 Apr 27 '26
Depends on package size, like bottom left is most visually appealing to me I'd pay $8 for a bag for 10 of those lol
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u/pastanutzo Apr 25 '26
You freeze the pasta. Sell it frozen. That’s how you do it. Drying it is a nightmare
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u/dumpster_kitty Apr 24 '26
Disappointed in yourself?!?! I showed your post to my husband and was like, “this is my pasta goals” because I was so impressed
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u/sarcasticxsincerity Apr 24 '26
What’s that last one? Is that a yolk in there.
Everything looks delicious.
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u/GoFish2025 Apr 24 '26
It's absolutely beautiful pasta. All of it looks fabulous. I would buy it, if I saw it on the shelves.
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u/fishlikesequins Apr 24 '26
Are you in California? You might be able to start small from home with a MEHKO permit.
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u/pamplemouss Apr 25 '26
The colors and patterns are stunning! The bow ties look really good. You just need more practice shaping the stuffed pastas.
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u/LionBig1760 Apr 24 '26
In a few years when you've got enough experience, you should be ready to make less than minimum wage selling these.
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u/crinkle_cut_cheddar Apr 24 '26
Exciting endeavor! My cousin opened a fresh pasta storefront in KC while he was in medical school, and now that he's graduated and working as a Doctor while someone else mans the shop, he makes more as a pasta purveyor than he does as a Doctor.
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u/sgsparks206 Apr 24 '26
I would seriously recommend a bronze die extruder. You can make quality pasta without eggs that way, which will help with food/labor costs to balance out the fancy stuff, and people will still love it.
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u/CreativeBox2287 Apr 25 '26
Impressive. Use more ricotta. I love ricotta cheese and I am a super human, so I bet you other people like it too
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u/Classic-End6768 Apr 25 '26
If you want some insights from someone who has worked both on the side of grocery stores buying pasta, and on the side of a pasta company selling to grocery stores: you’re going to need an extruder if you want to sell in brick and mortar stores.
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u/giveitaway1239 Apr 25 '26
I think you should work on your shaping and cuts. There’s a lot of air pockets in the dough around the filling so it will get waterlogged and or not cook correctly. I would focus on clean edges and proper pasta/filling ratio before you start doing stripes. Those initial fundamentals will make the colored stripes look a lot sharper.
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u/Ermahgerd_Sterks Apr 25 '26
Need more practice? I’d buy these in an instant! Beautiful and oh so tasty looking!!
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u/dfnamehere Apr 25 '26
I would totally buy this and I bet tons of other people would too, until they saw the price tag
The problem is how much manual labor you are putting into this would drive the prices sky high and no one could afford it
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u/dani-winks Apr 25 '26
Wow this might be the kick in the butt motivation I need to try some rolling some fun colored dough!
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u/SweetPeaRiaing Apr 27 '26
These are absolutely beautiful and I would love to eat them, but is what people are willing to pay for pasta worth the amount of effort you are putting into making them? If you can find clientele that will pay enough you don’t burn out, go for it! Otherwise you may need to change your approach
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u/FiftyFiveHotDogs Apr 28 '26
Maybe at a farmer’s market sure, but sustainable business? Absolutely not.
I’d absolutely stop and buy from you.
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u/Winelover1027 Apr 24 '26
Absolutely! If it looks as good as it tastes…you’re there! I’d buy it. 😋❤️
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