Make it Yourself...Spaetzle Makers

When I made Spätzle  yesterday, I thought again about how maybe I should purchase some sort of Spätzle-maker…as we really like them and I do make them occasionally.  They are a quick and easy way to make noodles or egg dumplings.

There are all kinds of spätzle makers…the most common are spaetzle slides, where you put the dough, and only a small amount, I might add, into a hopper and slide it back and forth to drop the spaetzle into the boiling liquid.  Then there is a nice tray you can purchase from Fantes, that fits right over your pan and you simply wipe the dough through the holes with a rubber scraper…this looks like the simplest to use and store to me.  There are also combination spaetzle makers/food mills like this one from Weston, and most fascinating, a Kull spätzle maker that looks like a potato ricer with large holes, it is often used in  gasthaus kitchens in Germany.
Some folks use a colander with large holes too. Cook's Country magazine last year used a large foil roasting pan they punctured with holes - that looked flimsy and like a real hassle to me!

I guess I think that using a plate or cutting board and simply cutting off your dough with a table knife and letting it slide into the liquid is cheap, simple and effective.  If you want small spätzle, cut the dough both ways or drop the dough with 2 spoons.  You don't have to look far for your equipment!  

If you live in Germany, however, and some parts of the US, you can simply purchase your spätzle ready-to-cook, from companies like Knorr and Maggi.

Besides cooking spaetzle in soup, many folks drain them, and brown them with buttered crumbs or serve them with caramelized onions, depending on your ethnic heritage.  I always try to order them with my meal in German-American restaurants, like those in Amana, Iowa.
Here's my favorite spaetzle recipe: Handgeschabt Spätzle