Soup Makers

I spent two hours this morning making French onion soup, which is just about the most labour intensive soup you can make IMHO. Is it possible to make it in a soupmaker? Does it save all that standing over it, browning and caramelising? If it does, I will dig mine out of the garage at once!

Big success with the soup maker! The pea and mint soup was very good and there was LOADS of it, would probably have been enough for six if not too greedy. I've frozen the rest for another day.

Well, the machine did all it said it would do although I have not yet tried the sauteer. It makes quite a noise as it goes through the process but it does tell you in the instruction book what the noises mean, so it is not too scary. I would recommend rinsing it out as soon as you can. It is easy to clean the jug but the motor with the blades attached is a bit fiddly if you have let it dry on.

I wish you could make less soup but it tells you in the book that you must make it to full capacity or the rotor blade thingy won't work properly. It doesn't really matter as you can freeze what's left or reheat it later in a pan - not in the soup maker as it doesn't do reheat.

All in all, a very good buy and today I've bought the ingredients for carrot, lentil and coriander, so we'll see how that goes.

Greyduster - I think you could make the soup part of French Onion soup in the soupmaker if it has the sautee function but the bit where you float the cheese on toast on top you'd have to do under the grill, I suppose.

I'm making potage bonne femme tomorrow with the remains of a Lancashire hotpot

Mine was delivered today but I haven't even had a chance to unpack it yet! Tomorrow I will be mostly making soup

So glad you like it, NotTooOld! I'm waiting now with bated breath for Indinana's verdict....

Following reading this thread I am converted and think I'll get a soup maker too!

Right, tonight was my second go at soup making and I made carrot, lentil and coriander. Unfortunately I put in too many lentils and our spoons stood up in the bowls but the flavour was good so I will just water down the next batch. Lesson learned, 50g of lentils is probably enough. I think I put in 120g because 50g didn't look to be enough. You can just tell I am a brilliant cook (not), can't you?

mumofmadboys - good luck with your soup maker. I wonder if I can claim sales commission from the manufacturers?!!

I forgot to report back on my success today! Funnily enough, I too made a carrot soup, NotTooOld. But mine was spicy carrot and coriander. It was very very tasty - and very very spicy, . Think I might put only half a teaspoon of chilli flakes in next time, not a whole one.
But what a wonderful gadget, so much easier than the old pan and blender method. I used the sauté function to part-cook and soften the chopped carrot and onion, then added the liquid and spices and left it to it. Twenty-one minutes later I had loads of gorgeous, thick soup. I texted DD and said would she like some fresh home-made soup for lunch and her reply was 'I'm on my way' . So she and I had a very generous portion each and there were three more similar sized portions which went in the freezer (DH had had a meal at the golf club so he didn't have any).
I'm going to run out of takeaway containers (and freezer space) with all the soups I'll be making - or maybe I'll just give the excess away to DS and DD so I can keep trying out new recipes
BTW, NotTooOld, re claiming commission, I was going to ask you if you worked for the company

Glad you are happy with it.
I would hate to go back to a saucepan and blender.

Indinana - no, I don't work for them but I'm expecting a call any time to offer me a post as roving ambassador!

I, too, now have six portions of soup in the freezer and I had to go out and buy some new freezer containers. It would be better if we could make less, I think.

Indinana - am I right in thinking that the MIN marker inside the jug is where the veg or whatever must come up to, and then the liquid must come up to the MAX marker? I've read the booklet and I don't think it actually mentions those markers, unless I've missed a bit.

No- they are just min and max for the whole contents.

Oh, thanks, Leticia. That is very good because it means I do not have to make so much each time and my freezer will not fill up so quickly!

Yes, thanks from me too, Leticia, I wasn't sure about that either. At least it means I can make a smaller amount, which in turn means I can have a greater variety of 'spare' portions in the freezer!

My soup maker, ordered from e bay( MR with sauté function) arrives today! I feel quite excited. How sad is that! Thanks girls for telling me about them. Hadn't even heard of them and we make a lot of soup. Price was £49.99

Have fun with it mumofmadboys. I got mine from Amazon last week (all of 2p cheaper than yours, ). I'm just about to start researching which soup I'm going to make today for lunch. Possibly leek and potato. Also got broccoli, peppers, carrots and celery in the fridge, so I'm undecided as yet .
Do please let us know how you get on with it!

Yesterday I put a pack of lardons into a frying pan to cook, then put half a pack of frozen peas in a saucepan with boiling water (from the kettle), almost immediately tipped the water out (having defrosted the peas) and replaced it with more boiling water, put it onto the heat with a stock cube and brought it back up to the boil. After five minutes used a stick blender on the peas then added the cooked lardons. Ten minutes from starting I was eating my soup. Easy peasy.

Bit of a palaver though!

My green pea recipe is a roald dhal one .its very quick and light but I generally fry some pancetta to sprinkle on top or if I'm a leisured lady I interweave them to look decorative and fry them that way.

Wow! Interweaving pancetta. That really is a palaver! I'll stick with stuffing everything into the soupmaker!

We had leek and Stilton soup yesterday, made in our soup maker, delicious. I'm another convert to this wonderful gadget & wouldn't want to return to saucepan and stick blender

Leek, celery, and potato soup today, flavoured with garlic, ginger, tarragon and fennel seeds. One of my 'make it up as you go along' soups, and turned out beautifully, very tasty!

I've been reading this thread with interest. The OP mentioned not having a sautee function, but in another post she mentioned having one. Is the sautee feature necessary? This has been a mouth watering thread and now I WANT ONE ! Is it reasonably easy to clean? any recommendations? I love the sound of all the recipes on here and it sounds less of a faff than using the blender. Any guidance very welcome !

I think the soup maker vendors have been reading this thread, or it is the approaching cold weather. Inspired by the recommendations, I ordered one and nowhere had the MR one with sauté function for less than £59.99. However I took the plunge and wait with baited breath for my own personal soupathon

I don't think you need the sautée option- I haven't got it.
I fill it with soapy water as soon as finished. Leave to soak while we eat the soup then do a few quick bursts with the cleaning button and then washes out quickly. So easy. I know people keep saying how easy it is with a saucepan and blender, but the soup maker is much simpler!

Thanks, both of you