Are soup makers worth it? If so, how do you use yours?

[Geebray]

I want to get more healthy and I like soups, but I want to start making my own rather than buying processed ones. Is a soup maker worth it? Or is it just another kitchen gimmick?

What sort of recipes do you use for yours, if you have one?

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Oh, and cheese makes all soups nice

Same here but how do you stop splashing the soup up the kitchen walls from the pan when blending 😂. Is there a clever hack for this?

Marsala is another fortified wine, but usually sweeter than a dry sherry.
I add a splash to many different soups, doesn't need much.

But you could put everything in a pan and leave it to simmer while you get on with other stuff? And then use a stick blender if you want it smooth.

Same here but how do you stop splashing the soup up the kitchen walls from the pan when blending 😂. Is there a clever hack for this?

I've never had this problem! Maybe just try pulsing the blender and keeping it deep in the liquid?

I like the idea of a soup maker that can saute stuff first, then you just bung some other stuff in and get on with your day.

And no, imo that is not the same as using a saucepan, because you really can't go off and leave a saucepan - you need to stir it. I am coming down on the side of buying another kitchen gadget 😁

mine only cooks for 28 minutes which is slightly too long so I have to unplug it,
I like it for boiled veg as it doesn't create as much steam as a saucepan .
use it a few times a week

Yes, I am also liking the idea of cooking smells and steam being contained.

it also has a fill level that you have to abide by or it beeps loudly and switches off
initial soups were very watery so didn't need as much water or stock

I use mine. I throw left over veg in it, and hey presto, you have lovely soup twenty minutes later.

I bought one ( it does the saute as well)

It is really good for using up random tomatoes that have gone soft .
If I'm cooking Sunday dinner then I keep any leftover roast potatoes and freeze them (great for thickening and you don't need oil)
Oven roasted skin-on carrots , freeze any leftovers

Bag of frozen squash
Roast pumpkin

I do frozen roasted onions for rice or pasta so there's always some in the freezer .
Carrot and Coriander- carrot , leeks, coriander seeds , garlic ( Lazy Garlic)
Spiced tomato and Red Pepper (one hot chilli is plenty)
Pumpkin and squash, a chilli, onion, potatoe

I use Marigold Buillon Powder ( low salt one -the regular is way too salty)

I used to do the saucepan+blender method but the Soup maker is quicker and with a smaller amount I'll try new things

I did wonder if it would just be hot vegetable water but no , it is soup.

We 're vegetarian so I don't know about putting meat in.

Thank you @Georgyporky . I see its Marsala without the Garam .

@Riverlee Can throw some chicken pieces in to make chicken soup or does it only make veg?

Its embarrassing how much I love my soupmaker! I've had all the comments from my MIL (who makes never ending soup) about how easy it is to make soup and why do I have a special gadget. When my previous one broke, I thought Id do the pressure cooker/ blender approach and never bothered doing it. I've just chucked some mushrooms that needed using up, some water, some leftover cream, some nutmeg and a stock cube in my new soupmaker for lunch and have an delicious mushroom soup. All I did was throw everything in and switch it on and leave it.

What do you mean you can't leave a saucepan? I make lots of soups, Mary Berry, Delia etc recipes, some require the veg to be sauted, roasted etc first, others don't, then when the stock is added you can just leave it to simmer and go off and do other things. I've never owned a soup maker, can't see the point at all.
For stock I mostly use homemade stock from the roast chicken carcass which freezes well, or else use Marigold vegetable bouillon powder( recommended years ago in a Nigella book), I find it better than cubes or stockpots.

I make lots of soups and up until a few months ago just used a stick blender etc

However my soup maker I bought is an absolute revelation because for smooth soups you cannot get them so velvety and smooth as the soup maker does. I have one from Lakeland with the saute function

Love mine. It's the ninja one. I was very against it at first and didn't see the point, but it's genuinely fantastic and despite the cost has massively cut down on our food waste. Would definitely recommend as it's basically zero washing up - you chop in it, fry in it and then add stock and press the button and it's done. It even has a "clean" button!

Can I ask how you all clean your soup makers? I was looking at the Aldi one last week but it doesn't seem to have an inner pan that you take out to wash? Do you have to wash it really carefully so you don't get water on the electrical bit? It doesn't seem a sensible design.

Could you not have thrown those ingredients into a pan and left it to simmer? I guess a soup maker would also blend it without having to use a stick blender. But do you have as much control over how blended the soup is in a soup maker? With mushroom soup for example I wouldn't want it completely smooth so I'd use my stick blender carefully and keep checking the consistency.

I might be tempted if I thought soup made in a soup maker would taste better than soup made in a pan. But if not then I wouldn't want another kitchen appliance taking up space.

I bought one second hand (loads on Facebook marketplace where I live) on the strength of how much some people here love theirs. No regrets, works really well, easy to clean, keeps the soup warm after it's finished. I fry a massive pot of onions and freeze in portions to add to soups. Other tip: add some bouillon or a stock pot, as I think others have said.

That would be shed loads of butter, sautee the onions for at least ten minutes , roast the veg first and use home made stock, enough salt to raise your blood pressure at least 2 bars and finish off with fresh herbs and double cream 😉

I have a soup where you don't even prep the veg. Waitrose casserole veg, veg stock cube and hot water in the slow cooker, blend when done. Nourishing and tasty.

Why can't you leave a saucepan? I don't stand and watch food cook, I bung it on the hob or in the oven and leave it to do it's own thing. I set the timer on Google before I go off and do something else.

That's not soup, that's boiled veg😱😂

Which is pretty much a description of any veg soup, when you think about it.

No,there has to be sauteing of onions involved otherwise it's boiled veg.