What are my top tips for using a soup maker? Read on to find out.
Why Should You Use A Soup Maker?
For me, a soup maker was a welcome present from Morphy Richards, which has seen a labour of love grow from early beginnings.
Morphy Richards now have a new machine on the go, which seems to have a sauté base, so I covet that version at the moment. For now, I will stick with my kettle version of a soup maker.
I imagine that if you are looking for soup maker recipes, that you already own a machine, but if you don’t, there are major differences between the two styles that prevail.
Types of Soup Maker
Kettle / Jug Type
This is like the version that I have. It resembles a large kettle, but you cannot see the inside of it while the soup cooks. You do need to use the minimum and maximum settings on the kettle to make sure you have the right amount of ingredients and fluid in your soup maker. My version can also make smoothies, which is a very welcome thing indeed. The blender attachment is in the top of the kettle, which makes for very easy cleaning.
Blender Type
These versions tend to be slightly more expensive. They can often sauté onions and vegetables, but with the kettle versions catching up, that benefit will soon be wiped out.
These usually resemble a traditional counter top blender, with the blending tool in the bottom of the glass. They are said to be more difficult to clean, but I cannot vouch for that. You really would have to find out for yourself.
Considerations For Buying A Soup Maker
Decide what SIZE of soup maker you will need. My version makes soup from 1.3 – 1.6 litres. If you are only making soup for one person, you might be fine with a small quantity soup maker, or simply freeze what you have made for another day.
Different SETTINGS do made a difference. I wanted the option to have both smooth and chunky soup from my soup maker. The smoothie function was an added bonus. It isn’t obvious when you look at some versions, but reading more deeply into functions and settings, you might find the one you are coveting cannot do one or the other.
If you want ease of CLEANING, then you have no option but to read through the reviews of people who have owned soup makers. I have only suffered from one burnt bottom of the pan, and that was my own fault, as I forgot to stir the ingredients with the fluid before I popped on the lid. It is worth nothing though, that even though the bottom did burn, just a little….a ten minute soak with hot soapy water, and it scrubbed off no problem.
Soup Maker Tips and Tricks
- Prepare as much of your ingredients as possible in advance. Considering that most of my recipes are simply chop and plop, it’s quite easy to do.
- Use boiling water for your stock, or liquid addition. I find that if I use it cold from the tap that the vegetables may not be fully cooked when the soup is ready. Starting with hot stock, gives it a great chance to add more flavour and taste.
- If you plan to use anything frozen, make sure the ingredients are fully thawed first.
- Make sure all meat that goes into the soup maker is pre-cooked. Soup makers do not have long enough settings to cook your meat.
- Chop your ingredients into small pieces, especially potatoes, carrots and turnip. This allows the vegetables to fully cook in the short soup maker cycle.
- Ensure the lid is fully closed or sealed.
- Do NOT open the lid during cooking. If you do you may find yourself splattered with very hot liquid.
- Some soup makers have a strong pulse setting. I’ve seen many people recommend holding down the lid, to avoid soup being pushed up and out of the blender. I do not have this problem with my version, but remember to check out the possibilities of your own.
- Follow your manufacturers minimum and maximum guidelines. My jug has these clearly marked on the inside of my machine.
- Do not submerge your soup maker fully in water to clean. Follow your instructions to the letter, or you may short out your machine.
- Follow your manufacturers instructions for cooking, cleaning and maintenance.
SAFETY WHEN USING A SOUP MAKER
- NEVER fill your soup maker past its manufacturers recommendation or outside the minimum and maximum fill levels.
- Do NOT immerse any parts of your soup maker fully in water.
- Keep soup makers and kettles away from the edges of counters, especially if you have children, to avoid them being dragged over the edge.
- Do not be tempted to open the lid during cooking. The soup maker contents may explode over you.
Can I use frozen veg in the soup maker? I expect I have to thaw the veg before hand?
I do use frozen veg, but it sometimes requires two cycles to be fully cooked. It’s one of those things we have to decide for ourselves. I wouldn’t recommend yes or no, but can only tell you what I do.
I have tried a few soups and have enjoyed them but agree it’s trial and error to avoid a soup that can be a bit insipid or lacking such a deep and rounded flavour. I have batch cooked a whole slow cooker full of sliced onions and frozen them down in portions to add more flavour in the soup maker.
I have read all the comments and everyone seems very happy with their soup maker. I was however a little disappointed. I made the basic vegetable soup as the recipe stated but I found it a little bland -it was the blended version. Better luck next time maybe.
Hi Ruth, just add more seasoning to your taste. Everyone is different in the levels of seasoning they like. Good luck with your soupmaker. Was that my recipe, or one from your soupmaker book?
I am confused as to what oil to use in my Salter soup maker. I make up my own recipes which give good results but the base is often burnt. I put rapeseed oil or corn oil in the machine first, every time. My machine does not salute / Brown so wonder if I should use any oil at all. Tom Cosens
I don’t know the Salter machines, but if it isn’t a saute version, I’d likely saute in a small pan and then add to the soupmaker.
Hi Scottish Mum – I love the ease of cooking soup in my soup maker. However, I am gluten intolerant and wonder if I can use cornflour instead of flour in the recipes that require flour?
Yes, cornflour would work fine in recipes that need flour, but make sure it’s mixed to a smooth paste before going in, or it will just end up as smushy lumps. I prefer not to use any sort of flour, and keep it to a minimum as I think it can spoil the taste of soups. At times, for a chunky soup, it helps, but most of my recipes are flour less.
Hi, I had a vegetable soup kit and it said to add 600 ml of water but the soup maker says min 1300 ml so I added that amount, it’s okay but should I have added two bags of the vegetables? Thankyou in advance
Ahh, yes, you would need to up the vegetables to turn a smaller recipe to a larger quantity. I think we all do that at some point.
Hi I have just made cauliflower and broccoli soup but it was very thin, this was my first time using the soup maker so not sure I did it right, how do I thicken the soup next time, thank you
Hi Sue, what proportion of ingredients did you use? If you tell me amounts, I might be able to pinpoint what happened.
I have just treated myself to a Morphy Richards soup maker. I bought made up soup veg, put in chicken bouillon paste pint of water & bingo deelish smooth pea green soup in 21minutes . Fabulous. x
I hope you enjoy your Morphy Richards. I absolutely love mine. I’d be lost without a soup gadget nowadays.
Have just bought a Morphy Richards soup maker. Have enjoyed reading all the letters and will try to
do the correct things.
Good luck Anne. I love my soup maker.
I recently joined the ranks of soup maker and can’t believe how much I’ve enjoyed making your recipes When using cream is it better to use double or single?
My family are all enjoying the benefits of homemade soups, so much nicer than tinned and already putting in requests, I’m working my way through the list.
Thanks Di
Hi Di
I tend just to use whichever cream I have in my fridge at the time, although I tend to buy double cream the most.
Lesley
I am just waiting for my mushroom soup to cook in my sm did not have all the ingredients but all the important ones just found out I sould have stirred before turning on can’t wait thanks for the tips and recipes
I hope it all turned out well. Mushroom soup can be tricky, as it can get so thick, depending on the mushrooms used I find.
Turned out well but might leave the pepper out next time
Glad you enjoyed it.
I’m thinking of buying a soup maker so that I can have a proper homemade soup for my lunch in work. If I cook it in the morning will it stay warm for my lunch or is it better to cook it 1/2 hour before lunchtime
Most soupmakers I’ve seen don’t have a keep warm function. It would depend which gadget and or which flask you use to take it to work.
I bought a SM recently and we love it already. As there are just two of us we find the quantity it makes is good with leftovers for a quick lunch next day. It’s summer here just now in New Zealand so I’m using it for steaming my veges etc. more than soups but I’m sure it will be used lots throughout the winter, trying many different soup recipes. I am so happy that I have found your website with many recipes and tips and hints for the SM. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome. Enjoy.
Lesley
I had bought soup maker for hubby’s Christmas but he was disappointed that it doesn’t make a lot of soup ( he takes approx the amount of made soup in soup maker in one sitting…he loves his soup lol) so I have been using it with supermarket ready prepared soup mixes but these are very limited in flavours. So glad I googled and found your site…will definitely be following your recipes..many thanks
What size of soupmaker did you buy? I’m having trouble thinking anyone could drink about 1.5 – 2 litres of soup in one go, but then again, if my eldest lad was on the go and starving, he might be able to as well. Good luck with your soup making.
Lesley
Hi l have just purchased a soup maker but don’t like the recipes which came with it can l use a normal soup receive book, if so abit nerves can l add all the ingredients they ask for
Thank you Rita
Hi Rita
You’d have to modify the ingredients to fit to your soupmakers quantity levels, and don’t put in raw flesh. Meat, fish and poultry must be cooked before being added to the pot.
Hope you enjoy your soup maker.
Lesley
Scottish Mum: You said: “My machine has a maximum of 1.6 litres, so I tend to work around 600 – 800g of physical ingredients and around 800g to one litre of stock or water. That doesn’t work for pulses or pasta though. Those are simply trial and error”. Did you mean to say ‘800ml’ rather than 800g?
Thank a lot
Emrys
Just thinking of buying a soup maker and know a lot more about them after reading your web site. Thanks for the info.
Just thinking of buying a soup maker and know a lot more about them after reading your web site. Thanks for the info.
Hi. I’ve just bought a tefal soup maker could check the min and max levels on the inside of the jug is that for all ingredients plus stock ? I love making big batches of soup to feed my family of 5 but now thinking I’ll have to cook in batches ?! Thanks.
We bought our MR soup maker today and already have made mixed veg soup using supermarket ready chopped veges and a potato we added plus mushrooms. Plenty of veges left over for more and enough soup to feed us lunches for the next 3 days. We love it already.
what happens if your recipe says add milk and water,will it burn? I have the Morphy Richards Sauté type. It is wonderful
I find the saute type does not burn for me. None of my soups in the saute version has burned, though one in my other soupmaker did. To help that, I give it all a good stir before I put on the lid, making sure that none of the thicker ingredients are stuck to the base at the start.
Perhaps I’ve just been lucky, but with the saute maker, if you were worried, you could lift the lid and give it a stir during the cooking, as it has a pause function, but you would need to be careful, as the soup will be very hot. Cheese or pulses would be the ingredients that might make me check half way through.
Hi – Thank you very much for sharing your wonderful recipes. I have had my soup maker now for a month and love it. I even bought my daughter one of the same – Morphy Richards soup and saute.
I wonder if you could advise on using recipes other than the ones in the booklet that came with the machine. I love lentils and pulses and broth style soups but have found the soup ends up very very thick and not nice. How does one know how to translate a stove top recipe to a soup maker? Hoping you know, 😉 Mo
Hi Mo, thanks for the comment. To transfer a stove top recipe to a soup maker one, it’s simply a question of proportions. If your maximum fill level is 1.6 litres, then your contents cannot go above that, or the fill level for your soup maker, ie if you have a recipe for eight people that needs around 1.5kg of ingredients and 1.8 litres of stock, then added together, it would total around 3.3 litres. It would simply be a case of proportioning that so it fits within your soup maker.
My machine has a maximum of 1.6 litres, so I tend to work around 600 – 800g of physical ingredients and around 800g to one litre of stock or water. That doesn’t work for pulses or pasta though. Those are simply trial and error.
I have recently bought my Morphy Richards Soupmaker, I love it. So having just googled for recipes I found your site. I will be trying your leek and potatoe Soup recipe for tomorrow’s lunch.
Thanks for visiting. I hope you enjoyed your soup.