Ravioli Molds - Which are the best?

Everyone loves Ravioli – what’s not to like?!

However, unless you’re willing to pay high prices, the store-bought varieties are often very disappointing.

On the other hand, homemade ravioli are great – they’re easy and fun to make and you can fill them with just about anything.

Many people imagine that making their own ravioli is difficult, and to be truthful there is a certain level of skill and practice required to make ravioli quickly and consistently by hand. However, anyone can quickly and easily make plump, delicious ravioli at home with a ravioli mold.

A ravioli mold (sometimes also called a ravioli press, ravioli maker mold or ravioli form), is a fast and effective way to fill, cut and seal perfect ravioli and is very simple to use. Simply dust your ravioli mold with flour, lay fresh pasta on it (either homemade or store bought), poke down the pockets, fill with whatever filling you want, then lay another sheet of pasta on top. Next you simply roll over the top of the ravioli mold with a rolling pin and the mold cuts out the ravioli and crimps the edges. It's that simple!

Whilst there are other more expensive and complicated types of ravioli maker on the market such as attachments that clip onto a pasta machine, in my opinion a ravioli mold is the best ravioli makeras it is low-tech, easy to use, easy to wash and inexpensive.

With a ravioli mold you can quickly make a large batch of ravioli and freeze whatever you don’t eat. This is great when you want to take advantage of seasonal produce in your fillings, and because ravioli can be cooked from frozen this means you can always have a fast and delicious meal option on hand.

There are a variety of ravioli molds on the market, and whilst they can generally all produce a satisfactory result, some are better than others.

Ravioli molds come with a few basic variations – they can be made of either plastic or metal, and sometimes they come with an additional mold to help form the pockets where your filling goes.

In my opinion, plastic ravioli molds work just as well as the metal ones, and I feel better about putting a plastic mold through the dishwasher (as dishwasher detergent can sometimes affect metal). However, metal ravioli molds probably last longer and arguably look better so and if, like me, you’re happy to wash your ravioli mold by hand then a metal ravioli mold is a great option.

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Most ravioli molds make 10 – 24 ravioli with the primary difference being the size of each individual ravioli and the shape.

Ravioli mold sizes range from those that make small 1 inch ravioli, which are great to include in soup, up to large ravioli molds that make ravioli up to 3 inches square. I have two ravioli molds that make 2 inch and 2.5 inch ravioli respectively and I find these to be the most universally useful.

The most common shapes are circles and squares however there are wide variety of fun shapes available such as stars and fish shapes. Fun shaped ravioli are a good way to get fussy children to eat their meal, and you can even sneak vegetables into the fillings without them even realising.

There are a lot of different brands of mold on the market, from top of the line Italian brands to more generic versions. In my experience you tend to get what you pay for – the more expensive ravioli molds tend to produce ravioli that are a better shape and size.

A ravioli mold is a piece of equipment that will last you a lifetime so you should look to buy the best mold you can afford. If you are not sure which one to go for, look for mold that has good reviews on Amazon or opt for long standing reputable brands such as Imperia.

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The best ravioli mold for you depends on the ravioli shape and size you are looking for and your personal preferences. For example, you may prefer a square ravioli with a deep fill which allows plenty of filling. You may also find that a mold that makes 12 at a time is best, as the molds that make larger numbers of ravioli require wider sheets of fresh pasta - which can be difficult to create using a standard pasta machine (although more achievable if you are hand rolling your pasta or using store bought pasta). Alternatively you might prefer a ravioli mold that makes a smaller number of large ravioli.

Whilst I have several ravioli molds, the one I seem to use time and time again is made by the Italian brand Imperia and makes 12 square ravioli. To me, it is the perfect general purpose ravioli mold as it turns out plump ravioli that are a great 'mouthful size' and it's very easy to use.

All in all a ravioli mold is a purchase that you will get a lot of use and enjoyment out of - they are inexpensive, easy to use, they last forever, they make great gifts and they produce fantastic results.

Ravioli molds are available in most kitchen shops however there are also a wide variety on Amazon where you can read impartial reviews on a wide variety of molds, compare the various shapes and sizes, and purchase top brands for much lower prices than in retail shops.

Don't wait until the next time you feel like some delicious ravioli to think about buying a ravioli mold - visit amazon.com and order yours today!