Spätzle Makers Compared: Press, Hopper, Board or Colander

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If you have stood in a kitchen store staring at three completely different gadgets all claiming to make the same noodle, you are not confused, the marketing is. A spaetzle maker just needs to push soft batter through a hole and let gravity and boiling water do the rest, and every design on the market, from a $30 press to a wooden board that costs nothing extra, is solving that one problem in a different order of operations. My guide to cooking Bavarian food in North America covers the rest of the pantry; this page is only about the noodle-making end of it.

The press

A press works like a giant garlic press: batter goes in a hopper on top, a lever forces it through holes in the base, and short noodles drop straight into the pot. It is the tool most North American kitchens end up with, because it is the one sold as “a spaetzle maker” without qualification.

Goldspatz‘s Spätzle Press No. 2190 is stainless steel, 15.6 inches long by 4.3 inches wide, weighs 1.8 pounds, and lists at $89.50 on Amazon with 4.6 stars across 382 ratings. The brand’s own description leans on “non-slip” locking support so the press rests securely on a pot rim, “precision perforation” for even noodles, and an embossed origin mark it calls out as “a sign of quality”¹. The same product line also sells a separate board-and-scraper tool, which tells you the maker itself does not think one method beats the other so much as suits different cooks.

Westmark, a German manufacturer, sells its own round-hole “Spätzlepress” directly at €59.99, in aluminum; the identical press, sold in North America through the importer Loewen META, lists at $89.50⁴⁵. That is a meaningful spread for one product, and it is worth checking more than one listing before you buy, because the price difference has nothing to do with the noodles it makes.

The Taste of Germany, a mail-order grocer, sells its own house-brand stainless steel press, 13 inches, for $29.95, the cheapest confirmed price for a press in this comparison. Its own copy says the design is “well suited to soak up gravy and sauces,” which is a fair way to describe a wider, flatter noodle².

Resi says I would buy the Goldspatz. Stainless steel does not react with an acidic sauce the way aluminum can over time, the locking support actually keeps the thing from sliding off the pot, and the embossed mark means you are not buying an anonymous stamped part. It is not the cheapest option on this page, and if $30 is the ceiling, the Taste of Germany press will still get you real spaetzle, just with a plainer noodle and a plainer tool.

The hopper, or slider

Some presses are marketed as “hopper” or “slider” style, implying a flat sliding action rather than a lever. In practice, both Westmark’s and Kull’s flagship consumer products are lever presses, not the sliding kind, so treat “hopper” on a listing as marketing language for a press rather than a separate mechanism worth shopping for on its own.

Kull, a Swabian maker, sells the “Original Kull Spaetzle-Schwob” press: heavy-duty die-cast aluminum with a plastic coating, a patented removable handle, an included English-language recipe, and a stated 2-year warranty, doubling as a potato ricer. At the time this research was checked, its specific Amazon listing showed as unavailable, with a historical 3.9-star rating across 20 reviews, so confirm current stock yourself before counting on it⁶.

The board and scraper

Before the lever press existed, there was the board: a flat wooden or metal surface you spread the batter across, then scrape strips of it off the edge directly into boiling water with a knife or a dedicated scraper. It is the method Swabian grandmothers used for a very long time before anyone patented a hopper, and it is still how a lot of home cooks in Baden-Württemberg make spaetzle today.

Goldspatz sells its own Spaetzle Board & Scraper (#2196) alongside its press, confirming that a board-based tool is a normal, current product and not just nostalgia. This research did not turn up a fetched price for that specific listing, so treat any number you see for it as something to confirm at checkout rather than something to quote here.

The colander

The oldest trick, and the one that costs nothing extra: push the batter through a wide-holed colander with a rubber spatula, directly over the pot. It works, plenty of home cooks swear by it, and it is genuinely the cheapest way into this dish if you already own a colander with big enough holes. Because it is a technique rather than a product, there is no specific colander to recommend here; any wide-holed one you already own will do the job, though the noodles will come out shorter and less uniform than a press gives you.

Spätzle is Swabian, not Bavarian, and I get to say that

Here is the part where I, a Northern Light who lived in Munich for many years, get to enjoy a border dispute from a safe distance. Spätzle’s protected name, “Schwäbische Spätzle” or “Schwäbische Knöpfle,” carries an EU Protected Geographical Indication, and the protected zone is all of Baden-Württemberg plus Bavaria’s own Schwaben district, the Allgäu, and nothing else in Bavaria³. That means the rest of Bavaria’s claim to spaetzle is entirely a matter of appetite, not law, and every Bavarian who has ever ordered a plate of it at a beer hall in Munich is, technically, eating a Swabian dish on borrowed geography. Bavarians will tell you this does not matter. Swabians will tell you it matters enormously. I have no dog in this fight and intend to keep it that way.

If you want the Bavarian side of that argument in dish form, my guide to Bavarian food covers Kässpatzle, the Allgäu’s own cheese-and-onion version, which at least sits inside the protected zone honestly.

Which to buy

Source: Amazon and manufacturer listings cited above¹².

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a spaetzle maker called in German?

A press is usually called a Spätzlepresse or Spätzlehobel, and a board-and-scraper set is a Spätzlebrett. Both terms describe the same family of tools for pushing egg-noodle batter into boiling water.

Do I need a special tool to make spaetzle at home?

No. A wide-holed colander and a rubber spatula will make real spaetzle, just with less uniform noodles than a press produces. A press or board is a convenience, not a requirement.

What is the difference between a spaetzle press and a spaetzle board?

A press uses a lever to force batter through holes in one motion. A board is a flat surface you scrape strips of batter from directly into the pot with a knife or scraper, the older and more manual method.

Is spaetzle Bavarian or Swabian?

Legally, Swabian. “Schwäbische Spätzle” carries an EU Protected Geographical Indication covering Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria’s own Allgäu district. The rest of Bavaria eats it by appetite, not by any protected claim.

Can I make spaetzle without buying a new tool?

Yes, with a wide-holed colander you already own. It is the cheapest way to try the dish before deciding whether a dedicated press is worth the money.

Why do spaetzle press prices vary so much between retailers?

The same Westmark press, for example, sells for €59.99 directly from the German manufacturer but $89.50 through a North American importer. Check more than one listing before buying, since the hardware is identical either way.

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