Pasta Guitar for Spaghetti & Tagliatelle

Spaghetti alla Chitarra (Guitar Pasta) is a typical Italian Pasta. In Italy they are also called Maccheroni alla Chitarra, while in other countries are best known as Guitar Spaghetti, Pasta alla Guitarra, Pasta alla Chitarra – Guitar Pasta or Italian Pasta Guitar. This handmade pasta was born in Abruzzo, a center Italy region, but nowadays you can find it everywhere in Italy. In other regions there are other very similar types of pasta, such as “Tonnarelli” in Lazio, “Troccoli” in Basilicata / Puglia and “Maccheroni Crioli” in Molise.

Making Guitar Spaghetti

These tasty Spaghetti can be prepared with the “Chitarra” (Guitar), a typical culinary tool typical of Abruzzo and of the Adriatic regions of central and southern Italy. The “Chitarra” is a fresh pasta instrument made with beech wood and stainless steel strings. Its name derives from the similarity with the musical instrument. The tool for making spaghetti alla chitarra gives the pasta a square shape of about 2 mm per side and a porous consistency, that allows the sauces to adhere better. To make the pasta dough suitable for making spaghetti or macaroni alla chitarra, you can use durum wheat semolina, eggs and a pinch of salt.

How to use a Pasta Guitar

Once the dough is worked, it must be put to rest and then rolled out with a rolling pin to obtain a sheet of a couple of millimeters. Than it is necessary to put it on the Pasta Guitar ( (also known in Abruzzo as “maccarunàre”), then slide the rolling pin over it. In this way the strings of the guitar cut the sheet into strips allowing you to obtain perfectly squared spaghetti alla chitarra.

Pasta Guitar Cutter: first use

Before using your Chitarra Pasta Cutter for the first time, you can clean its wooden and stainless steel parts. Wood is a porous material: for this reason we recommend that you do not use chemicals for its cleaning.

Pasta Guitar for Spaghetti: how to clean it and maintenance

To clean the wood and steel strings of your Guitar Pasta Maker, you can use some natural remedies such as vinegar, baking soda or lemon and salt. You can then rinse with warm water and dry with a clean cloth. In any case, we recommend that you clean it thoroughly after each use, dry it if it is damp and store it in the open air so that the wood does not take odors, make stains or develop mold.