Soup maker

I have one and use it all the time.
There has been a thread on this before. The difference is that those who can't see the need haven't got one whereas everyone who has one has made soup the old way and thinks a soup maker is better.
It is wonderful- put everything in and switch on and that is all you do. I love it.

Aggie- it always managed to stick to the bottom of the pan when I made soup before. Now I just chop, drop in, add liquid, switch on and go away to do something else.

Hi everyone , After reading about soup makers , I went out this morning and brought one , can't wait to try it out .

lizzyann chop up as many mushrooms as you can, add some chopped onions, a little garlic and a chicken stockpot thingy. Lid on, switch on and bingo, 21 minutes later piping hot and delicious mushroom soup!

lizzyann, don't bother chopping the mushrooms and only halve or quarter the onions! Hope you have fun with your new toy.
Save your energy Jane10!

Fear not shysal I buy the onions ready chopped and only cut big mushrooms in half. I do wipe them though - must retain standards!

I've just put on a huge pot of 'root' soup - onions, swede, celeriac, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, all peeled and cut into chunks, and slung in a big pan with a couple of stock cubes. When all the veg are soft I'll add a some milk and fresh parsley and whizz it all up with a stick blender in the pan.

Can anyone tell me how it'd be easier with a soup maker? 99% of the work is in
the peeling and chopping, which I'd have to do anyway. I would really like to know.

I used to use a stick blender. It takes time, produces splashes of soup around the place and you can miss the odd lump or two so the soup is not homogeneous. I've found very few people are disappointed with soup makers compared to all other gadgets.

Advantages - Only using one pot/ utensil so less washing up.

Turn it on go off and do something else without having to worry that it might boil over or that you might forget it.

No competition as far as I'm concerned and I've been making soup for years.

That is what everyone says Witzend when they haven't used a soup maker. you would have to try it to know.

I don't know anyone with a soup maker who would go back, or anyone who thinks it is just as easy without, once they have one. Those who haven't tried it are the ones who can't see it!

I've been waiting to dip my toe in the water, so to speak. Like many others I used a big pan, or pressure cooker to make soup. Then with all the hype, I thought I'd have a go at a soup maker, so bought one. I used it once, using a suggested recipe included in the packaging. It smelt lovely and tasted great, but there was quite a bit stuck to the bottom! So it went back and I am baack to the old ways again.

I have never had any stuck to the bottom with my soup maker in the 3 yrs of using it! I would give it another go.

Auntifloe

Sorry you had a 'sticky bottom'.

I can honestly say that has never happened in my soup maker.

A friend of mine 'did' actually have the same thing happen to her but her soup maker was shaped like a 'fat cone' it 'tapered ' in shape. She also didn't use cold water to start with which may have 'upset' the cooking time ??

My Salter soup maker is a very big , round stainless steel pot I wonder if that makes a difference?

I only once had a burnt bottom!. It was when I made leek and potato soup which was too thin, so I made the mistake of adding more veg into the made soup and starting the timer again. I have learnt that the ingredients need to be a little way above the water level before you start, for the right consistency. My MR has to have boiling water to start.

As I said previously, I haven't tried my soup maker yet, but I did read through the instructions in Saturday and it said to use the 'stir' button occasionally to stop the soup sticking. If you have to keep doing this, it kind of makes a nonsense of being able to walk away and forget about it until the timer goes off. But, as I said, I haven't tried it yet, so I am just surmising.

They must vary tremendously!

Mine requires x amount of 'fluid'(water and a stock cube usually 800 mils) dependent on the quantity of soup you want to make.

The 'fluid' must be cold as there is obviously a controlled temperature/cooking time thermostat, this will be different according to the instructions it would appear.

I put the fluid into stainless steel pot, top to the level with vegetables, put the lid on, press the start button and come back to cooked soup about 20 minutes ?

The soup maker is easy peasy to clean.

We actually bought the Salter soup maker because hubby was watching the tele and Holly Willoughby said she loved her Salter soup maker. We were considering buying one we looked it up and bought it from Robert Dyas for £39.99 . Super bit of kit.

PS. Definitely do not have to press a stir button occasionally. A soup maker should be so simple you press start and leave it to do it's job.

I don't know why you would want one with a stir button. Mine was from Robert Dyas too. Everything goes in and cold liquid. Switch on for purée or chunky. 20 mins later you have soup. Nothing sticks and easy to clean.

I use a really big pan - stockpot type - so I don't get splashes from the stick blender.
I can see that a soup maker is that bit easier, but there's also the question of another appliance cluttering up the worktop - no room in cupboards - and I don't have a very big kitchen.
Still, I might just go mad one day...

Auntieing. You need to start by pouring some water into the bottom of the soup maker. This reduces the chance of veg burning on the base.

My new one has a nonstick bit at the bottom which solves the problem

It also sautéed if you want to

Thanks for all the tips and hints. I'm afraid that I was so fed up with it I returned it to Robert Dyas. It was a Morphy Richards one btw, and had good reviews. I used veg granules as the stock, maybe they were too thick. Never mind.

Maybe it had a lot of potato in it - that can stick easier than most things. A good stir before strting up helps (was it you who said you should have used the stir facility partway through? because the MR doesn't have one)

I really shouldn't expect anyone to make my mind up for me but indecisive is my middle name. SO Salter or MR, anyone used both and have a favourite?