Soup Makers

I bought a soup maker and found it more trouble then it was worth. Gave it away. Saucepan and stick blender. Suffice. Good way to soften chopped onions is in a little oil in the microwave. Onions, can of tomatoes and some basil blended together makes a good soup. Spice it up with a dash of Tabasco. Spinach or pea soup can be made with frozen veg.

Thanks for that, everyone. You've decided me - I'm going for the basic Morphy Richards. I don't have a blender or a thick saucepan, so I won't be wasting anything. Also, we don't eat meat so bones are not a problem. (dj - Being a veggie myself I was interested to hear about your vegetarian café.)

I've got the basic MR one, and I love it!

Well, I went on Amazon to order the basic MR one (ie no saute function) and noticed that they are selling the Saute and Soup Maker (501011) for only 50p more (£49.97 - a reduction of £20.02). That must be because they have a newer version on the market. Usual indecision, consultation with DH not very helpful, and then decided I may as well go for the 501011 even if I don't use the saute function much. Hope I have made the right choice.

Happy vegetable soup making, NotTooOld.

Thank you, dj. It's not going to be very adventurous soup making. DH is already telling me not to put 'anything herby or spicy' in his. Unfortunately he suffers from IBS!

Does that mean no onions or pulses as well, NotTooOld?

I`m ashamed to say this at my advanced age, but I`ve never made soup. Is it difficult to make, and would I benefit from buying a soup maker?

I love my soup maker- but I ignore the recipes that say you have to fry onions, etc, firt- just too much of a faff. So throw it all in and turn on- and that's great. I got a bit of stick when I started a thread about my soup maker last year, but as said in that thread- the best thing about it is that I can switch it on and go for a walk or potter int he garden, without worrying about the soup catching at the bottom and time passing too quickly and forgetting, burning it. Wouldn't be without it now.

It's the easiest thing ever, number, as granjura says. You do not need the recipe book. Just chop up veg, add water or stock, etc., then switch on.
It tells you when it's ready, keeps hot for a long time, and you can reheat it if you forget about it.

I make soup about once a week then boil it up every day and/or add other things to it.
I always start off sauteeing the basic vegetables, it would be very bland if just boiled. Making soup is simple and satisfying, I don't need a machine any more than I'd need a porridge-maker or a curry-maker.

I make a lot of soup, but using a blender. DD gave me a Cuisinart soup maker that her partner's mother gave them as a present. They tried it once, didn't like it and gave it to me, even though I didn't want it either! It has sat in its box in my garage for about four years and has never seen the light of day. Probably doesn't even work now.

this has been a very timely post a friend asked me at Church yesterday if I would recommend her buying a soup maker, I have never used one but after reading this thread I will pass on to her your comments. Thanks folks.

dj - I might get away with onions and pulses. I did make French onion soup a few times last winter and it was reasonably popular. I've ordered a recipe book along with the soup maker so I will have a look through that. I'm used to missing all sorts of ingredients out of all sorts of recipes in order to suit!

I love my soup maker. Bought it last year £25 from The Range.

Save your money it will only end up with the other electricals. Homes are full of ' it seemed a good idea at the time '.

Mine is out every other day in the winter. I make a jug full and freeze half. It is one of my best buys because it is just so easy. I make up my own recipes with whatever needs using up.

I am very tempted. Have already trailed through Amazon. Must have a look at Lakeland then which!

Sounds like a useful gadget, but only if other methods are not practical.
I use my pressure cooker and can knock up a veg based soup in minutes. If I have a surprise visitor and the veg shelf is looking depleted, a packet of frozen spinach, a potato, a Litre or so of Marigold vegetable stock and 10 minutes is all I need including "whizzing" time.

I make soup regularly and use just a stock pot and blender. I don't think I could stand another gadget, having to find space for it. On the other hand it would cut out so much mess - one of my most frequently made soups is lentil and bacon, as the whole family loves it. I make about 3 litres at a time, so have to blend it in batches. Obviously this means that I have to decant the blended soup into another container so I can use the blender for the next batch. I end up with so much washing up, and so many blobs of spilled soup all over the worktop!
I'd never heard of soup makers before. Wish I hadn't read this thread
#Icanresistanythingbuttemptation

I will still not be tempted. I have no more room in my kitchen cupboards for such things.
That is it I tell you! I will not buy any more kictchen gadgets. NO! NO! NO! not until something else fails.

Indinana, this is where a stick blender comes into its own. You don't have to transfer the soup to a separate blender, just bring the blender to the pot and it's a gadget that takes up hardly any room - mine is on a wall-mounted fixture - and they're comparatively inexpensive. So don't waste money on a soup maker!

anno I have a stick blender (as well as the blender on my Kenwood Chef) and it is a good one, very powerful. But it really isn't up to the job of blending a stockpot filled 8" deep with thick soup - I've tried it, and it's very difficult to be sure that the soup has been thoroughly blended. The thing is that the sheer depth of liquid means that the blender doesn't reach the bottom, so the only way to do it properly would be to pour some of the soup into another container to reduce the depth, and that would be self-defeating in the washing up stakes

You just can't win, Indinana!

If I have a thick soup, such as leak and potato, I take my potato masher to it, before I use the blender!