Hand blender or blender for soup??

[Sunflowers842]

I want to try and make soup this winter, only made one once and it was horrible 😂
Ive only got a hand blender which i dont think is a particularly good hand blender, should I invest in a proper blender? Thank you

Clearly all the snark about soupmakers is from people who dont have painful health issues and have never used one.

I LOVE mine 😂

Love your name-very apt

I was going to say the same. Every time any one asks about soup makers, there are a few posters who can't help but have a dig about how it's so easy to use a stick blender and a big pot. Apart from the difficulty for some of us ( I have severe arthritis in my wrists), when I used to use the pot and stick blender method, I found it took so much longer to make and I had to be watching it the whole time. When I got my soup maker, I couldn't believe how much quicker and easier it was.
OP, I think my first task would be to find a soup recipe that is reliable and delicious! And I would do that by using the equipment you already have. Once you have found a reci, or even a few, that you like. I would invest in a soup maker. I hadn't intended to have one, it was a gift, but I actually love it. I especially love that I can put ingredients in it first thing in the morning and by the time I leave for work I have fresh hot soup in my flask for lunch! As and when it eventually stops working, I will definitely replace it with a new one.

Oooh. How does a soup making cope with making things like ham hock and pea soup, scotch broth, ministrone etc? Seems to me you would be rather limited in the types of soups one could enjoy using the oh so wonderful soup maker.

I make this soup all the time and it is so good.
https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/nanas-magic-soup.html

Lentil and ham hock is one of my favourites, comes out fine.
Mine has technology so it knows how long to cook it .

I've never particularly liked minestrone or scotch broth so cant comment.

How does it strip the fat off the hock and shred it. What I mean is do you have the same faff as with a pan to do it yourself? I'm just curious. What about soups that require several steps and ingredients that require different treatment and cooking time?

Soup maker. You put in the ingredients then machine cooks and blends for you. You just pour into your bowl. I use mine I got from Aldi twice each week in the winter. I make 1. winter vegetable soup with an onion, 1/3 of a swede, 2 carrots, 1 small parsnip and a small potato. 2. Red lentil and tomato with a splash of cream and 3. Leek and potato. I serve with a piece of French stick. A lovely hot lunch which is so cheap to make.

After watching g my DD with a pan and stick blender then transfer to her blender machine and all the dirty dishes it made I bought her one. Clearly she didn't use it for a while because one day I got a call from her telling m how easy it was in super machine. She uses it all the time now.

Hand blender.

So much less messing around.

I love mine. It’s a more pricy one (Bamix) but as well as soups I make mayo (and mayo based sauces) with it, use it with the whip attachment for cream, the spice grinder bowl for coffee and spices and I also bought the the Slicey bowl which is a mini/medium food processor that I use to slice/grate/chop.

I’ll often use that to chop up the veggies for soup and the bowl just goes in the dishwasher or a quick rinse (much easier than my massive food processor that I never use anymore).

Use it at least twice a week and as it’s small it doesn’t clutter up my kitchen.

I have a hand blender and a normal blender (Kenwood chef attachment). I actually normally use the hand blender for soup, and it’s not a fancy one - it’s Wilko own brand and I think was about a tenner. Using the normal blender is more annoying as you have to wait for it to cool down a lot more. I only use it for soups that I want to be super super smooth (and other things, like hummus, pesto, curry paste etc) but normally I like a soup with a bit of texture which the stick blender is good for.

The biggest thing that makes a difference in soups is the stock you use, IME.

Stick blender for me. I don't often make soup so its not worth my while getting a soup maker that will take up space and won't be used that often while a stick blender can be used for loads of other things ,not just soup.

I made a big mistake years ago by putting soup into a liquidiser blender forgetting it was made of glass and it shattered everywhere and burned me as well!

I usually roast my veg first, then add it to a big pan with some vegetable bouillon. Stick blender when it’s done.

I have resisted the urge to buy a soup maker. I love a gadget, but this is one that seems a bit of a waste of time. I’m in the big pot and a hand blender camp. I know that my head will again be turned by an advert for an amazing all singing, all dancing soup maker and I will be tempted. But honestly, I can’t see the benefit of it. SIL bought one and raved about it. Now it sits in a cupboard in the garage with her panini press and yoghurt maker. Maybe I should ask her for it🤣🤣

I never intended to get a soup maker but one was gifted to me.
An absolute game changer!

hand blender (heavy duty) works really well for most soups. Some benefit from going in a blender and become super smooth that way BUT soup has to be very cool before you can do that

Thanks everyone. I think I'll get a better hand stick blender, maybe mine was just cheap and not very good.
Looking for a lovely creamy chicken soup recipe if anyone has a good one please.

I can't get on with my soup maker and am thinking of selling it - I prefer chunky soups anyway. But I'm going to give it another chance as I'm fairly sure it's user error.

I have both and I always use the hand blender when making soup as there is less to wash up.