Do I want a soup maker?

[HoneyButterPopcorn]

I keep seeking ads pop up on my SM accounts for a mini soup maker. I am quite tempted - but are they any good?

I can’t imagine soup made without sautéing onions, celery and carrots as a base can taste all that good though? Or will it taste like boiled veg (I’m a veggie)? I’m imagining slapping it on in the morning as I get ready by throwing in whatever’s in the fridge and having to ready to take to work with me.

Or is it just one more gadget I don’t need? (I do have a mini Nutri bullet in the office and use it quite often).

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I like my soup maker. No sauté function but just use up a lot of fridge or cupboard ingredients. It doesn’t do lentils great but copes well with most other ingredients

It's a waste of money, you don't get the depth of flavour and do you want all your soup to be smooth? I'm currently debating a slow cooker so feel your internal debate crisis.

But making soup in a pan uses up a lot of fridge ingredients too.

No, you need a saucepan and hand blender, so easy to make soup

I love mine- was gutted when it broke and have asked for another for my birthday - which is today😉

True. But this is my experience.

im the only one that eats a lot of the fresh ingredients and also the only one that eats the soup, so I find a soup maker is perfect for me.

Fine if it’s not for you. Its not for everyone.

it’s good for op not just to have the “oh but a pot and blender is just the same” brigade on a soup maker thread

Happy birthday @BigButtons

I got the Morphy Richards sauté soup make from Lidl in the new year. Loved it . And yeah it broke after about 10 uses. Gutted

OP is weighing up the pros and cons. I was pointing out that your pro was not exclusive to soup makers Do better.

You need to get one that sautes first, so you fry up your ingredients in it, then add the other ingredients and the liquid.

I have a compact morphy richards one and a 'just me' one. The very small doesnt saute but has made the most unbelieveable lentil soup that I wouldnt be able to replicate in a pan due to disability and also it would make far too much in a pan and I dont want the same soup for days on end.

I love my soup maker. I'm super lazy and can't be bothered to watch stuff in a saucepan, making sure it doesn't boil over or go dry or whatever. I love just chucking ingredients into the soup maker, pressing go and walking away. Perfect soup every time.

Never said it was exclusive. It’s my experience.
I wouldn’t use up as many ingredients if I didn’t have the soup maker.

that’s what I use my soup maker for. Using up ingredients. Making soup.
yeah you can do it other ways. That’s fine

you do better. It’s only a soup maker.
you’re only quoting me. Not giving your experiences. Just having a go at mine and my post.

be better.

god I love mine! I have joint issues so buy pre chopped frozen veg, onions, garlic, chicken, add coconut milk, wine, stock and chili - fabulous soup in 21 minutes

So when it comes to gadgets:

• instant pot is brilliant and gets used at least once a week
• popcorn maker ended up on the charity shop,
• stick blender that came with a mini bowl and chopper attachment and that was brilliant,
• slow cooker - used a couple of times,
• juicer - managed to break a few of the ‘cheaper’ ones (I make veggie juices and they just couldn’t cope) so bought a heavy duty all metal one and that’s been used hard for about 17 years now (so definately worth the extra outlay)
• little basket thing that hooks over your tap with a ‘release’ button for the bottom to drain veggie peels - surprisingly good
• Kitchen sink plug hole gunk collector - it’s like a mini piece of chain mail that covers the hole - because it’s like chain mail it sits over the plug so gives and extra layer of protection for rubbish going down the plug hole (we have a lot of pipe problems)
• soup maker - yes I had one a few years back and it worked a very few times and stopped working. Had to sautée the onions which defeated the purpose of ‘one pot soup’ so it was never replaced. Wanted one I could take to the office of throw everything into when I’m having a shower and have it ready to take to work
• mini Nutri bullet - my office toy and I make smoothies with it often
• big Nutri bullet - present. Love it and use it for smoothies at home
• Coffee grinder - I have one for coffee beans and one for spices. Ah the smell when you blend coffee or spices!

I bought one after my sister and mum raved about theirs.

It's OK, it definitely makes decent soup. But it does the same thing as a pot and a blender and takes up space. However, I'm the only one who actually eats soup in this house!

Just having lovely soup-maker soup for lunch, made from leftover roast chicken and broccoli - no prep needed, just dropped it into the soup maker and waited 20 mins.

My birthday soup maker is here ! I was thinking if of pre cooking batches of base veggies like the onions, garlic, celery, carrots etc and freezing them in portions. Has anyone already done this? Would make it even easier to whip up a soup

Who stands over a pan with a stick blender? Do they stand there the whole time waiting for the optimum moment to start blitzing? Personally, I put everything in the pot, bring it to the boil, turn it down to a simmer, then wander off to do something else for half an hour.

It was a waste of money for me. I'm not that keen on blended soups so to be honest I might as well just use a saucepan. And I do. Made a lovely lentil soup yesterday while the soup maker gathers dust.

Mine does have a saute function but its rather small surface area. I'm going to give it another go and sell it if I find, as I rather suspect, it's not worth getting out the cupboard.

Blending takes 20 seconds. I walk away from the pan and let it cook I return, put stick blender in and blitz . Done.

Precisely.

So who has got the big pan and stick blender out this morning? 😂

Found a random leek, a few potatoes and added a carrot and a stick of celery.
Some stock, fresh parsley and it's ready

That to me is why I have a soup maker.
I dont want a vat of soup.
I just like making 2-3 portions of fresh soup with whatever bits and bobs lurk in the veg drawer and need using up.

Depends.

I can’t stand my kitchen cluttered with gadgets that I have to get in and out of the cupboard etc.

My range of different sized saucepans and stick blender are the perfect soup maker.

I don't find a slow cooker gets anywhere near the depth of flavour of a casserole in the oven. The only way to was I found to saute everything on the hob in a casserole and brown the meat and by the time I'd done that I might as well just put a lid on the pan and put it in the oven.

Though it was excellent for mulled wine and cooking a whole ham.

Am i the only one that puts a pot of soup on then gets side tracked and forgets about it until it has boiled dry? I want a soupmaker so it all happens and then switches it off. I don't care about depth of flavour, I just want a quick lunch!

First trial is underway of my new soupmaker so I'll report back.