The other day I picked up a kitchen gadget called “Pasta Magic” and today I let you up close to the wonder that is my spaghetti sauce. After judging the results of this supposed time-saving device, I have to give it a thumbs up. Actually, not only do I have to give it the go-ahead, but I really want to do it.
Opening it up and looking at the contents, I found two containers, two strainer lids, two tight-fitting lids, instructions, and a thermal sleeve that is supposed to help you not burn your hand while pouring out the water you just used. to cook your pasta. I will review each of the components, because I have something to say about each one.
The bins are sturdy enough and don’t seem easy to tip over. They have a lip around the bottom to keep them upright. They have one big flaw that I’ll discuss in a moment.
Strainer lids… suck. I tried for a while to get the one that used to ‘wrap’ the container and failed. The thing was, I couldn’t tell while I was doing it if I was failing or not. There was no clicking, and there was also no indication that they hadn’t been pushed as far as they could go.
The two locking sealing caps seemed fine at first, but they also don’t seal with a click, so it’s unclear if they’ve been tightening all the way.
The instructions are the best part of the whole package, actually. They are clear and concise and tell exactly how to use the device.
The thermal sleeve has no grip on the inside, so as you try to pour the Pasta Magic water, the sleeve slides up and down on the cooking cylinder.
And that brings me to what happened and why this thing is really useless.
I made the pasta as instructed and waited the full 10 minutes listed in the instructions (it says 7-10). I removed the sealing cap and, grabbing the thermal sleeve, tried to pour out the liquid. Although the strainer lid was supposed to act as a strainer to strain pasta, I decided this was my first time using Pasta Magic, so I would have a backup and place it in the sink. Well, the thermal sleeve slipped, the water pushed against the strained lid, which knocked it into the strainer, and since the cylinder didn’t have any kind of pouring spout, the still near boiling water spilled onto my hand. I tilted it back and tried to take the strainer lid off my strainer so I could pour the pasta in its place and fry my fingertips more. I eventually cleared that out of the way and dumped out the paste so I could take a look.
Horrible. Some pasta pieces were cooked through, some were chewy, some were ‘al dente’, and many were stuck together. I tried to pry those pieces apart with a fork and it was clearly undercooked.
We try to eat it anyway. Some people have the misconception that pasta should be sticky, undercooked, and unappetizing. I am not one of them
* Physical quality: Poor… caps don’t fit, and that’s the main useless feature of this device
* Ease of use: Poor… holster doesn’t grip properly and cylinder needs some sort of pouring spout
* Results: Poor…pasta was really pretty bad
That’s why I say “Pasta Magic makes tragic pasta”. Don’t buy this except as a gift for the relative you hate.
On the plus side, we’ll be using them to store pasta on the countertop. Perhaps the entire product should be re-marketed for that purpose.