Are soup makers actually any use?

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Aldi have one in stock atm. I like soup but often can’t be bother with all the faff. I like the idea of chopping things up and having a machine do it all. However, it might end up being another item that doesn’t get much use.

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You can do either.

Sometimes I do pre-roast if I am planning ahead, and will put them into the oven while I'm cooking something else.

But I don't always plan that far ahead. 😊

Aldi have one in stock atm. https://hesaplio.github.io/

We have a Ninja soup maker which sautés and self cleans.

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking about the roasting. The soup maker follows the exact same steps you do when making soup any other way (sauté, simmer, blend). So if you like soup where you roast the tomatoes and peppers first, you’ll need to do the same thing with a soup maker if you want it to taste the same.

I wouldn’t have one, I’ve got a proper liquidiser on my Kenwood chef. I make soup every Sunday for lunches in the week, stored in the fridge in individual pots with lids on.

I buy frozen soffritto mix for my base, no effort required.

My soup maker died a few years ago and after reading this have just ordered one on Amazon.
i eat a lot of soup and tinned the specialty ones from Aldi but it’s got lots of extras in it home made always tasted better

@TwirlyPineapple im not sure. I like the idea of a soup maker but not sure if it would be faster.

At the moment I either roast veg and add stock, or sauté and cook in stock. Either way at I then just use the nutribullet to blend smoothe so no mess.

would a soup maker be easier?

The main time saving comes from not having to chop ingredients by hand and from less cleaning. A soup maker jug is one thing to clean, and many of them clean themselves. No knives, pans, chopping boards etc.

The main benefit though is more that they're less labour intensive, rather than being faster per se. You're only doing a few seconds of work (adding ingredients to chop and sauté, then adding wet ingredients) rather than chopping everything by hand and then actively doing each step and transferring from pan to blender etc.

Yes I do it this way. In my opinion, the hassle of making soup is the chopping and peeling of vegetables. You still have to do that with a soup maker so I don't see the point of them. Blitzing it with my stick blender is easy.

Right then. I was not at all expecting to have this amount of positivity. I will pop down to Aldi today and hope that they still have it in stock.
some really helpful ideas on here too so thank you!
I do have one question for those who don’t have the sauce function: have you noticed a difference in flavour? Is it ok to put onions in without ? It doesn’t taste too ‘harsh’?
Do I need a recipe book or can I treat it like making normal soup!
o seem to remember I had the same angst questions when I got my air fryer. Too much over thinking🤔

I was given one as a present and used it twice. I don’t think the soup tasted very nice and I found it a nightmare to clean. I e lost the instruction manual now too. No doubt I’m doing it wrong but not sure what I’m doing wrong. Any tips? It doesn’t sauté so essentially just bunging in veg and adding hot water . If only cooks the soup for 20 mins too.

I feel almost convinced I should have one now 😁

However, I don't get the scalded arm and splashes comments from posters who have used a stick blender. That doesn't happen yo me. My blender is a Bamix that I have had for years and is still going strong.

If I had more storage space I would consider one, but I don't feel I am missing out just now.

I will usually air fry my veg first to enhance the flavour. No problems adding in onions.

CaraCameleon I do find I need to add loads of veg and stock to ensure it’s a nice flavour (and as I say above, pre-sautéing the veg helps. Re cleaning - have you tried adding soapy water and running it on blend? Mine sometimes sticks in one place but it clears with a bit of white vinegar.

Yes I always sauté vegetables in a pan first.

I still prefer soup maker as it makes a consistent smooth texture and I leave it to do its thing

When I did it in a liquidiser you had to wait for it to cool down then reheat again

Stick blender is ok

I love ours.

I didn't want it. Didn't see the point. Would make soup in a big pan.

But then I always had too much of the same soup, a faff with the big pan, it wasn't smooth enough for fussy kids or by the time I'd decided I quite fancied soup for dinner it was too late to start it.

They are in no way essential but are bloody handy.

Because it's tall and thin like a kettle it doesn't take up that much room in the cupboard.

We buy veg from a farm honesty box so often cut up and freeze excess carrots, leeks etc. as long as you poor boiling water on them first (need for stock anyway) it's still ready in 20 minutes.

We clean the soup maker while the bowls of soup cool down and it's put away before we eat.

It has helped the kids eat more veg as it gets it smoother than I ever managed with a stick blender.

No. My husband bought one and made soup non stop for a week, since when it's sat in a cupboard gathering dust.

Meanwhile I have a stick blender that I have used a few times a month for the past decade.

My only tip would be don't start with tomato. It's the easiest to burn to the bottom.

You have to make sure you have plenty of liquid and distribute the tinned tomatoes well. Then it's fine but we failed to do this properly on first attempt.

I make chunky soup most weeks for work, in a pan, but wondering about a soup maker now. Anyway…I buy frozen soffritto mix …game changer for me.

I make minestrone every week @BigDahliaFan , I agree, frozen soffrito mix is amazing (frozen chopped garlic and green herbs too).

I use ours a lot, it also has a saute and self cleaning function. Morphy Richards.

Have pondered whether one of these would be useful & timesaving or not or just another dust collector. I currently use my pressure cooker & ancient stick blender. I wash, peel and top/tail veg & cut in half ie carrots and parsnips. Onions are peeled and chopped in half. Ditto celery, beans. I saute it in garlic & herbs, seasoning then in goes the stock, tomatoes, sometimes red lentils. Pressure cook for 20 mins. At the end I'll either blend with a stick or mash with a metal potato masher for chunkier soup. I often add a can of kidney beans or chick peas or some I might have boiled and frozen at the end. How large a quantity of soup do they make or do they come in different sizes? Where do you buy soffrito?

@CherryRipe1 you've reminded me that my instant pot has a soup setting. I've always wondered why given that it takes 20 mins and my soups don't take much longer than that on my hob.

I shop at Waitrose and M&S generally, both do frozen soffrito mix for about £1.50. I use a third of a packet to make a four portions of soup. It is just so handy, always there, never goes off and no work chopping.

I resisted because I was one of those people who said I have e a saucepan and a stick blender, why do I need a soup maker?

Oh boy, I realised the benefits when I was given one and thought I may as well try it out. It is much quicker - I don't chop the veg, I don't have to be in the kitchen, I don't do much.

But the biggest bonus is that you can just put the timer on it and go away. I make soup on days when I'm working from home. I carry on with my work in the study and pop back when I want to press the next button to go from chop to fry to simmer to blend. Doesn't matter if I leave half an hour between because the soup just sits there not boiling over or spoiling.

Love mine, I've had it about 4 years and it's still in use. Yes, you can do the same thing with a stick blender, but I can't be arsed to.

So when I make soup I’d never just chuck it all in the pan. Sauté the soffrito, then other chopped veg, then add stock, bay leaf, bit of wine….

so do you just put the onions, garlic and other veg in all at once so it chops it up then cooks it….?

im wondering if it’s like a slow cooker, which I gave away as it always turned out stuff that didn’t taste as nice as a casserole cooked in the oven.

What are the soup makers that chop the veg then?