Soup Maker - worth getting or will it end up at the back of the cupboard?

[SomewhatBored]

I'm tempted by the idea of a soup maker - they sound temptingly easy, shove in your chopped veg, leave for 30 minutes et voila! delicious home made soup.

Are they really as easy as that? If you have one, do you use it regularly? Any recommendations for brands/models? I couldn't go to more than about £100, but would rather spend more on one that will last and do the job than buy a very cheap one that isn't user-friendly so won't get used.

All opinions gratefully received.

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You won’t regret it.

I love mine! My two year old doesn't eat much veg but loves vegetable soup. He loves helping to chop up the veg and turn it on. They don't take up much space and easy to clean as long as you rinse straight away (like lost stuff).

Can onions or leeks go in soup maker without the sauté function?

@WithIcePlease

Can onions or leeks go in soup maker without the sauté function?

Yes. I just rough chop them. If you're in Lancashire, the greengrocers sell bags of what we call Pot Herbs - not herbs just a bag of tiny chopped mixed veg. Carrot, onion, cabbage, leek, celery . They make great soup maker soup. Add in a handful of spinach and re-blend at the end. Gorge

We love ours. Use it regularly. It only takes up the same amount of room as a kettle on the worktop and is really easy to clean. Lovely hot soup in 21 minutes. No standing and stirring a pan and no stick blender splashing stuff all over the hob.

WithIcePlease Yes of course. As long as they are chopped small enough that is absolutely fine. You only really need to consider hard root vegetables and chop them into small enough pieces so they cook in 21 minutes. That said, if they aren't cooked at the end of the cycle you can just whack it on for a bit longer.

I'm a sucker for a kitchen gadget but this is honestly the best one I have ever bought. We use it a few times every week.

@WithIcePlease I made a leek and potato soup without sauté ing the leeks last week and it turned out well. I couldn’t taste any difference.

I LOVE mine!!! It's really really really easy- pack of prepared veg (80p) , stock pot, water, seasoning and yum!!!

I don't bother much with peeling- only butternut/celeriac. Would not be without it

I was worried about not sautéing but it’s been fine, you wouldn’t know I haven’t sautéed.

You can buy dry soup mixes of pearl barley and peas etc but you’d need to pre soak and cook them I suppose? Or at least pre soak.

I use mine twice each week in the winter. Definitely get it. Switch it on, add onion, a few mins, then add chopped veg and stock, press cook button, when it pings, press blend button. Pour out hot soup. Takes 25-30 mins. Lovely with a French stick. I do Tomato and lentil, Leak and potato, vegetable, cream of tomato. Something we all eat. Serves 4 portions. I bought my dd one and she loves it. Safer that boiling saucepans with young children.

I bought mine at Aldi on a super buy for about £40. They come up from time to time.

Because veg is blended really smooth D's does not moan.anout eating veg anymore. I can get 3 or 4 into him like magic.

I love my MR soup maker for the same reason as lots of PP - being able to leave it to do its thing while I get on with other stuff.

People who use frozen veg - do you defrost it first?

I make soup at least once a week and a large soup pan and stick blender work just fine!

Is the MR compact one any good?

I think that’s the one I have and really rate it!

I’ve got the mr compact too.

I've had one in the shed since 2017.

We use it a lot. Murphy Richards was £50 , on a half price offer
I think it’s great

I bought the Aldi one on Monday £35
It's super and I can see myself using it a lot esp at the mo as losing some lockdown pounds and a big bowl of hot soup is so filling

It is smoother than a hand blender imo

I reckoned that if I didn't use it, I could give to DD and or DSis but I think they've lost out 😂

I use up random veg anyway, without a soup maker - always have - just the good old pan. Don’t often blend unless it’s something like Thai style butternut squash soup or curried parsnip. Most often it’s a whatever-I-have with lots of veg, red lentils, pearl barley, any leftover mash, etc.

A lot of people do find soup makers very useful. I wouldn’t want one personally, since I manage fine without and don’t want any more gadgets cluttering up worktop or cupboards. Also IMO a lot of people think there’s some sort of mystique to making soup, so they think they need a gadget to do it properly.

I love mine - wish I’d bought one when the kids were younger.

I’d never have thought I’d buy such a gadget - I can make soup perfectly well on the hob.

But it’s the simplicity of chucking the veg / cooked chicken / whatever in - turning it on and 20 mins later - I have soup! No need to stand over it.

I like the fact it’s not a huge amount - so I have a variety of soup. I sometimes a plain blended vegetable soup (using chopped frozen veg) and put that on the hob and add more meat/ fish/ veg to it to make it more interesting.

I do a lot of cooking - but I do think this is a useful gadget.

UPDATE:

My new Morphy Richards Compact has arrived! It is indeed compact so takes up very little space on my worktop. We are having a Sunday roast this evening with chicken, so its first outing will be leftover chicken and vegetable soup tomorrow.

I've dug out a recipe book called 'The Soup Bible' which I'm going to browse through for further inspiration.

I will report on tomorrow's chicken and veg .

Conclusion:

Very impressed on first use! I dropped in leftovers from yesterday - chicken, cabbage and cauliflower, added stock, seasoning and some tarragon, set it to smooth, messed around on the internet for 19 minutes and came back to very smooth and creamy soup. Much creamier than I have ever achieved with the blender and only one thing to wash up afterwards.

I noticed it keeps on blending almost until the end (on the smooth setting) and you can remove the lid at any time when it's in the heating phase so last-minute ingredients could easily be added.

I'm planning to try some proper recipes later in the week as I've loads of frozen veg I can use, but very pleased with what it made of haphazard leftovers thrown carelessly in!

Thanks again to everyone who offered advice and recommendations.

@SomewhatBored

It is also useful for using up any random vegetables that need eating

Yes, that thought appealed to me - I often end up with leftover bits and pieces that I don't get round to using.

Again though, the soup maker doesn't help you do anything that a saucepan and a new stick blender wouldn't do.

If you have the space and don't already have one I'd sooner have a proper food processor and/or slow cooker or insta pot.

Well, I'm pleased with it - it takes up very little room and was relatively cheap as I only needed the compact model.

The idea of home made soup is much more appealing when it doesn't involve going backwards and forwards to a saucepan and blender. After I've finished work, all I really want to do is sit down and relax, which is why I am all too willing to resort to ready meals and the microwave - something I really want to get away from.