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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Have you got one that cooks quick or slow?

I would normally (althoug havent cooked it in years) cook it down very very slowly with the onions first taking a long time

I never put milk in a soup, just a dollop of yoghurt or creme fraiche once its cooked
The only soup i now make in a pan is avolegmo , but that is because i use the whole left over chicken carcass.

In the soup maker tend to make are celariac, lentil, carot, sweet potato or butternut squash /pumpkin soup. Also there us a pesto minestrone recipe in the morphy richard instruction manual that i make sometimes .

I think mine probably does either. I can set it to boil or simmer and on a timer so I do it slowly.

I wouldnt use celeriac as I cant cut it with my hands, or peel it. Carrot, sweet potato, butternut squash or pumkin far too sweet, we dont like them (plus I cant cut or peel half of them). Pesto minestrone I might like

My plans were cullen skink, haddock chowders, sweetcorn chowders, creamy spinach, creamy watercress, brocolli and blue cheese, creamy chicken and ham

I eat a lot of tarka dhal so wouldnt bother with a lentil soup

Im going to give the onion soup a go and just see how I can get along with this thing

I may need to look at a slightly different one, but the attraction to this one is that it does a small portion, we cant get through a lot of soup, I alredy have another 2 portions left over from today and will have to force myself through it during the week!

I wouldn't add cream or milk until the end whether making a soup or sauce because it splits at high temperatures.

If you boil milk in a pan it will bubble over plus it will be a nightmare to clean.

It's very hot once finished and you can fill it to the lower rather than upper level so it wouldn't be a problem to stir through at the end of you want a creamy texture (this is what I'd do in a pan so just took same approach to the soup maker)

Yes I dont know why its only just occured to me that during cooking for the non blended programme I dont actually have to fill it to the minmum line. I would only need to do that for a smooth soup (so that the blade can reach the liquid), which I can achieve anyway by pouring in my milk or cream at the end of cooking and then using the blend button

Awful soup crisis averted!!!

As you were.

I'd probably still go for the minimum to avoid burning things to the bottom but there's a fair difference between min and max which would allow for cream or milk to be added later.

I'd just run the programme for smooth of chunky then add the cream and give it a quick stir.

I was going to do curried roast cauliflower soul today - bought all the ingredients apart from the bloody cauliflower🤬

Yes although Im not sure the burning is from that, its from the sauting

The minimum it does is 800ml and we cant get through that in one go, that gives us 4 portions and OH only eats soup once a week and Im not even that keen very often so I'll stick to the very min I can get away with otherwise I'll be souped out!

Oh recipe please, I love cauliflower, I eat quite a lot of it

I have the ninja. I made green lentil, potato and spinach soup yesterday with chilli and curry powder, similar to a daal.
The day before I had mushroom.
Other faves are leek and potato, sweet potato and red lentil, carrot and coriander.
My tip is to get a bag of Waitrose frozen soffrito and saute a handful with a dash of oil and any spices you are using as a tasty base for most soups.
Plenty of spice, salt and pepper and stock cubes or tinned tomatoes or coconut milk depending on type. Avoid excessive liquid, get your proportions right.
But most soups work fine without sauteing. I don't get on with cauliflower but hope it works for you OP.
I chuck it in, have my breakfast, then fill my soup flask to take to work, putting the rest aside for the day after and sticking it onto the clean cycle.

It was this one https://cookieandkate.com/curried-cauliflower-soup/
I am wondering if I can just roast some other veg in the air fryer instead?
what a tit I am. To be fair it was like the zombie apocalypse in Aldi this afternoon and I just got fed up and went to the tills instead of double checking my list.

I had one, and it was very quick which was a bonus, but I eventually killed it ( by using frozen veg I think) and I really don’t miss it, have gone back to using a saucepan and a blender, and think I get a better flavour since I can sauté the veg first to get them going!

Well thats how I did my roasted sweetcorn earlier for the sweetcorn chowder type thing, in the airfryer, was lovely

Love mine - wasn’t sure I’d use it but it’s so quick and easy. It has a sauté option too and a cleaning option.

I use mine a couple of times a week from autumn to spring for WFH low fat lunches, prep in the morning and set it to be ready for about 1pm.

I don't think I'd have one unless gifted or if I won it. I just chop my veg base, chuck it in the pan to soften a bit add stock & seasoning then simmer for around 20 mins ish the stick blend it . I recently got one of those veg choppers it's a cheapo version of nicer dicer gadgety thing which speeds that side up no end as I tend to make big batches. It's a bit flimsy though so will replace with a better quality one eventually

I am going to have to fiddle around with it a bit. I have a texture issue with the smooth soup in that it makes me feel a bit sick. Maybe I am not adding enough liquid but it’s quite thick and gloopy.
I am going to try the chunky setting and then do a very quick blend.
all my soup tastes the same. I need good recipe ideas

If it's thick and gloopy that definitely sounds like not enough water.

@soupfiend My manual dexterity is not great due to disability. I found piercing and microwaving things in water softens them up so if I'm cooking say swede, I'll microwave it unpeeled in a rice/veg cooker until it's not rock hard then cut off what I need to use (save the excess in the fridge for soup or veg the next day). I then score it inside the peel into cubes and continue microwaving until soft, turn inside out and slice off. It's on the lines of how mangoes are prepared with the scored cubes but with microwaving involved. I've used this method for butternut squash, celeriac. With carrots I peel, cook in water until less hard then chop. Of course frozen veg is much easier but it often tastes a bit different to fresh.

@soupfiend My manual dexterity is not great due to disability. I found piercing and microwaving things in water softens them up so if I'm cooking say swede, I'll microwave it unpeeled in a rice/veg cooker until it's not rock hard then cut off what I need to use (save the excess in the fridge for soup or veg the next day). I then score it inside the peel into cubes and continue microwaving until soft, turn inside out and slice off. It's on the lines of how mangoes are prepared with the scored cubes but with microwaving involved. I've used this method for butternut squash, celeriac. With carrots I peel, cook in water until less hard then chop. Of course frozen veg is much easier but it often tastes a bit different to fresh.

Theres some decent ideas there so well done for discovering that but if Im honest, even reading that feels exhausting and I wouldnt be arsed to do it all, so frozen and prepared veg it is!!!