Yahoo News The best soup makers
Winter is coming, and that can only mean one thing: copious amounts of soup. It makes sense. Much of our autumn and winter produce – carrots, squash, celeriac, leeks, potatoes, etc – responds well to being blitzed up in infinite combinations and consumed throughout the week on cold, dark, rainy nights.
Telegraph columnist Stephen Harris, chef-owner of The Sportsman in Kent, is a fan, but laments that soup is often comprised of ingredients found soggy or partially frozen at the back of a fridge. "Soup is one of the simplest foods," Harris explains, "which sadly means it is often the dumping ground for sub-standard ingredients."
While we at Telegraph Recommended applaud all efforts to minimise food waste (use up that old veg! And a useful tip: add leftover cheese rinds for extra depth), Harris definitely has a point – soup should be celebrated as one of the cheapest, most nutritious and filling meals there is. It's time to honour the broth, respect the chowder and appreciate the bisque.
Soup is also incredibly easy to cook, and a soup maker renders the process even simpler. While not exactly an essential kitchen item, a soup maker can save plenty of time. All the devices tested here cook up a smooth, creamy meal in between 20 to 30 minutes. While you'll still have to chop your veg, you then simply chuck everything into the machine, which usually looks like a traditional blender, add stock or hot water, and you're good to go.
There are two main types of soup maker. One is a more basic device, which simply requires you to add the chopped ingredients and press go. An additional smoothie blender will do the same thing, but without adding heat. Often, there'll be 'smooth' or 'chunky' settings, which, naturally, provide a creamy or bitty soup.
More sophisticated models come with additional functions, some of which are useful, though they tend to drive up the prices. Some have a sauté function, to brown off onions and garlic, for example, for added depth of flavour or colour. Others even have a self-clean mode, though I found you often still need to rinse or scrub in the sink. A keep-warm function maintains the soup's temperature for a limited time after cooking, up to an hour, in most cases. Usually, you can reheat your soup in the device.
Some soup makers, generally the cheaper type, look a bit like kettles, while the pricier ones, usually made of glass, bear a closer resemblance to a traditional blender. Generally, the basic, metal models are fairly light, while a more high-tech device will be heavier. Size-wise, they're analogous to blenders, though some can be a bit bigger. Around 1.2 to 1.6 litres tends to be capacity, so opt for a bigger model if you're making dinner for a family; smaller if going solo.
Having tested a wide range, I've found them to be incredibly easy to use, and results are consistently excellent. I'd suggest starting off with recipes from the provided booklets (which all good soup makers should provide), to get a feel for the device, before doing your own thing.
Here are the best soup makers I tested, starting with my favourite.
1. Cuisinart SSB3U soup maker plus
Why we like it: Good looking and high performing – the high-school jock of the soup maker world
The company that puts the art into cuisine – quite literally. The Cuisinart soup maker was one of the better-looking models I tried. A sleek and slender design, it doesn't take up too much space and isn't an ugly machine that should be stashed away when not in use.
But the reason it came up trumps is not aesthetic. Rather, it was the most versatile device, with some extra functions that pushed it ahead of others, even if they add to the cost. Firstly, I found it to be the most similar to using an actual pan. This is because it came with a sauté function – everyone knows browning of onions, which caramelises them, adds a wonderful depth of flavour. Of course, with other devices, you could do this in a pan beforehand, but this saves time. There's even a stir button which ensures the onions (or whatever you're frying off) don't burn.
It is, admittedly, a tad more hands-on than some soup makers – the aforementioned sautéing, for example, requires you to switch between functions during cooking. But this is a small price to pay for a superior soup. For example, once it's finished cooking, it'll bleep, signifying it's time to blend – most others will automatically blend the soup.
Unlike some soup makers, the Cuisinart is see-through, so you can stay on top of what's going on in the pot. The lid comes with a hole, filled by a measuring cup, which allows you to add ingredients during cooking; ideal if you've got ingredients that cook at different speeds. The stir function ensures everything mixes together perfectly – a squash and red pepper soup I tried was superb.
All soup makers make a bit of a racket when blending, but some are noisy during cooking too. Not this one. I barely noticed it. The blender makes smoothies in no time at all, too.
Overall, it's a premium device with some useful functions, though admittedly comes at a greater cost.
2. VonShef multifunctional digital soup maker 1.75l
Why we like it: No-nonsense, easy to use, and affordable
A simple looking, more basic device that does a wonderful job. With a large capacity, it's ideal for a family, too. It's less glitzy than some devices, but it does what it says on the tin, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
The main pros: It's on the quiet size; it's slender and thus doesn't overrun your kitchen worktop; it's got a digital count-down timer on the handle; it's incredibly easy to use (whack everything in, and press go).
The first soup I made here was a traditional carrot and coriander. It was delightfully smooth and creamy, without any trace of chunky carrot, and not watery at all. This was following a recipe from the booklet, which was as straightforward as they come. When ready (usually 30 minutes), you have to press the blend button to whiz everything together.
Helpfully, the lid also has an in-built memory function, useful if, say, you've forgotten an ingredient, or want to add something halfway through the cook. I'd suggest waiting a couple of minutes after you've finished before removing the lid, as it gets quite hot.
Overall, a no-nonsense, affordable device that doesn't fail to deliver top results.
3. Tefal easy soup and smoothie maker
Why we like it: Quick and easy
For simplicity and speed, there's little better than this Tefal soup maker. It's fairly pedestrian looking, featuring a stainless steel body and white plastic lid. But it's small, slender and unobtrusive.
It was incredibly easy to use, too. The instructions state that veg should be chopped into small centimetre cubes, before adding to the blender. As simple as that. Then you press one of two settings (chunky or smooth), and you're good to go. Additionally, there are compote and smoothie functions for desserts and breakfasts.
It was one of the quicker devices. The smooth setting takes just 23 minutes, and my butternut squash and orange soup was delicious. The keep warm setting lasts 40 minutes, so you can cook well ahead of your actual eating time. And there's an easy cleaning function, though I found it straightforward enough to clean in the sink.
For cooking times, it's unbeatable. However, a couple of bugbears: it was on the loud side (though not especially louder than a gas hob). It let off a lot of steam, too. And I wouldn't have minded a countdown timer. Nevertheless, it's scored highly for speed, ease of use, and size.
4. Lakeland touchscreen soup maker
A nice-looking, versatile soup maker, with one caveat: it's big and rather heavy. Otherwise, there's not much wrong with it, and it comes with a handy brush for easy cleaning.
There are some definite benefits here. Firstly, it offers more control than most. With many other devices, you choose your function and it cooks and blends within a certain time frame. Here, you can personalise temperature and time, to perfect whatever recipe you've chosen to make. My potato and leek soup came out a tad watery, thought not at all unpleasant.
One downside, however, is that there are a lot of beeps. Whenever the functionality changes, for example from cook to blend, you'll hear a bleep. It's a little annoying. However, the lid had a hole to add ingredients, which is good, and it wasn't very loud at all.
An added benefit is the ice crushing setting, meaning the machine isn't obsolete in the summer. If you're into cocktails, this'll be a great addition to your kitchen. You can also blend on three speed settings, and blend without heat, for smoothies, purees, baby food, etc.
Overall, a strong soup maker which allows for more customisation, but let down by being large and weighty.
5. Salter EK2613 Go Healthy electric soup maker
A fairly basic-looking, utilitarian design, which is rather paired back in terms of bells and whistles. Yet it's bigger than many at 1.6 litres, making it a good, cheap option for a family of four. It's also light, quiet, and comes with a brush and scouring pad for scrubbing off those tenacious soup residues.
Soups take 25-30 minutes, whether you're going for chunky or smooth, and you can blend smoothies too. Nothing fussy, just quick and easy soup.
6. Morphy Richards Perfect Soup
I found the Morphy Richards a tad fiddly to begin with, though I quickly got used to it. It was a little noisy, and looks like something you'd find storing coffee at your local canteen or function centre. It's not see-through, so you can't see what's going on inside, more annoying when you're trying to dish out portions than during cooking itself.
However there were some redeeming features. I liked that it had weighing scales built in, music to the ears of those looking to stick to recipes meticulously. The LED timer was helpful to ascertain how long you've got left on your soup, which usually took around half an hour to make. Overall, a solid machine that makes good soup, but not quite as impressive as some competitors.
