Soup Makers

Goldiegirl

If any one has a soup maker, please could you advise me of your experiences with using one. It's something I've been looking at recently, so I'm interested in what they are like in practice.


PS - I already know that soups can be made in a saucepan or a slow cooker, because I do this already. I also know that soups can be made in a pressure cooker. It's just people's experiences with soup makers that I'm asking about.


Many thanks

caronc

I don't have one but my Dad does. Pros - great if you like blended soups and don't want to make a huge amount. Cons - he finds his tricky to clean and that his soups taste a bit "samey" though that might be what he's putting in he's guilty of chucking stuff in without thinking of the end taste

EDITED - sorry should have added his does make chunkier soups but doesn't give good results for pulse based soups except red lentil

culpepper

we've got one.
Pros..soup in about 20 mins (good if you work out at home as soup can cook while you exercise).
Useful for making left overs into soups...
The jug part is heat proof so good for whizzing up already hot liquids.
Ours can double as a nut milk maker.

Cons ,cant dishwasher them (electric bit is built into the jug).
Sometimes food catches on the bottom..
Only really enough for 2 good soup bowls or three smaller.
If you put in a little too much liquid, it can come out of the spout as it blends and its hot.
If you put in too many solids, it wont operate till you take some out (well our model anyway)..

maddiemay

I have had mine for a couple of months and I love it, OH loves the results too. Mine is a Morphy Richards 501014 with a non stick portion at the base so you can saute ingredients to start for better flavour . Meat and chicken need to be cooked first to ensure they are properly cooked.

It will make smooth or chunky soups max time 28 minutes. Very easy to wash up, as stated don't immerse though. Hot water w u liquid and a brush, rinse out and drain. I only have a smaller dish washer and wouldn't use the space for it anyway.

Food needs to be not too chunky, I either dice or if hands too painful use processor.

Fantastic recipes from a blogger called Scottish Mum, bought her 2 kindle books, not expensive. I used a recipe from her or the instruction booklet the first few times to get the hang of the proportions.

Makes 6 standard mugs full which suits us nicely.

Some of the ones made so far (some several times) cauliflower cheese, broccoli and stilton, chicken/turkey noodle, vegetable, leek and potato, cream of tomato, mushroom. I take advantage of hefty YS reductions when I come across them.:D

I really have not experienced any problems with it, obviously be careful of very hot steam when taking top off. I lift it off carefully and take to sink rinse the shaft blade unit only under hot tap, use a soapy cloth to remove anything sticking to shaft or blade. Reviews for some other makes of soup makers reported problems with the electronics caused by steam whilst in use, not for the MR though as I recall, but I thought it sensible to remove too much steam from small kitchen anyway, so I always use it on a tray on top of gas hob right under the fan unit - works a treat and because it is so quick no problem needing to use hob at the same time.

Sorry for the essay, but hope this helps OP and others:D

Nicki

I have one too and which makes about 6 bowls of soup, enough for my aoH, adult son and me. I always put a cup of water in the bottom before adding the other ingredients then top up with liquid and nothing has ever stuck. Lentils and pulses need to be parboiled first as otherwise there's too much bite left and I also find I get better results if I start with hot stock as the cooking time is only 20mins for a blended soup.

I've made butternut squash, curried parsnip, chicken and sweet corn and leek and potato so far with great results. My attempt at lentil soup wasn't successful because I didn't think I needed to precook them. I'm not a big soup fan but my husband is and this has been a good buy for us.

MandM90

I don't actually have one, but thought you might be interested to know that Lidl will have a stainless steel one in store from this Sunday. At £39.99 it's one of the cheaper ones on the market, I believe (I'll still be sticking to my pan and ancient blender though )

bouicca21

I've got that Morphy Richards one too. Love it. Am now addicted to sweet potato and chorizo soup. Tomato also brilliant (you don't even need to take the skins off). DD scathingly said 'its just a big kettle isn't it?' But she still went out and bought one for herself.

maisie_cat

I've stopped using mine, by the time you faff around getting the stuff out of the jug and cleaning the thing you may as well make from scratch. You can still do stuff while it's simmering on low on the gas or slow cook on high. Blend with a hand blender , both saucepans and slow cooker crock easier to clean and the blender cleans by whizzing in warm water & dish soap. The manual method also creates larger portions

Gloria_Steeth

I too like my Morphy Richards Saute and Soup maker though mine is an older version (501011). I use it often.

Pros:
Quick and easy.
Smooth soups are much more finely blended than with my stick blender which always missed bits.
Soup seems hotter than when I cook it a saucepan - sounds daft, I know, but maybe the tall narrow shape keeps it warmer when serving.

Cons:
It's another gadget which you have to find space for.

As Maddiemay already said in Post #4, the kettle-style is easy to clean because the blade is attached to the lid, not in the base as with blender-style soupmakers.

Goldiegirl

Thanks for the input everyone, it was very interesting.


I'm still not 100% sure whether I'll get one, but it's given me food for thought

Tiddlywinks

If you have an limitless budget then the Vitamix blender can make soup - raw ingredients in, pulse to chop and mix and then put on high blend for about 6 minutes.

The friction actually heats up the ingredients and cooks them whilst it blends. But, of course, the soup is blended so no lumps.