Soup Maker

Soup makers take any fuss, and the standing-around-and-stirring time, out of soup making. There's no need for additional equipment either – such as a stick blender or a liquidiser – this gadget does it all. You just add the ingredients (only a little peeling and chopping required), and press a button.

It heats, stirs, and blends, to make soup that’s table-ready within around 30 minutes. It’s great for busy schedules, people in shared accommodation when hob space is tight, or even makeshift kitchens or offices where there’s no hob. You can press the button and walk away – similar to a slow cooker.

Which ingredients not to use: Tough herbs like bay leaves, rosemary stalks or bouquet garni are best avoided when using a soup maker. As the machine blends intermittently during cooking, woodier herbs will be broken up by the blades, and you won’t be able to fish them out later on, leaving your soup with tough bits in it.

Don’t fill the soup maker past the 'maximum fill' line. If you have too much stock, fill up to the line, and once your soup is done or if you’d prefer a thinner consistency, mix the hot stock in.

Add dairy such a cheese, cream, crème fraîche and yogurt after the soup has finished its cycle so there’s no chance of curdling.

Do you add all the ingredients at the same time? If you want some texture in the soup, like ham, or chicken, it's best to stir this into the soup after it's cooked. Meat doesn't work very well, as it's broken up too much by the blades and loses its texture. It's the same for anything whole, or larger chunks of ingredients you want to add to the soup.

Do I need to pre-cook ingredients? We tested these soups in a 1.4 L soup maker with no sauté or fry function. This means we didn’t fry anything before making the soup, saving time, making the soups healthier and reducing washing-up.

If you have time, you can always fry the vegetables in a pan in a little oil, before transferring them to the soup maker, or if your machine has a sauté function, read the instruction manual and feel free to use this. It will add more flavour and sweetness to the soup, although not essential.

What if I don’t want my soup super-smooth? Most soup makers have a ‘chunky’ and a ‘smooth’ setting. This means you can still make chunky soups like minestrone, chicken and sweetcorn, or lentil soups, it just doesn’t blend as much as the ‘smooth’ setting, but still stirs, heats and makes delicious soups in minutes.