Soup Makers

My soup maker arrived today. I'm delighted with it ++.Bellanona I notice the Morphy Richards one with the sauté function is still £49.99 if you look on e bay. I got mine from Cooperative electrical and the price included delivery. I don't think the sauté function is essential but it may be useful occasionally to sauté onions first for a special occasion perhaps??

Mine has the sauté function & it is good for doing the onions before adding anything else. Go for it if you can, you don't have to use the function but it's there if you want to

Thanks. Can't wait! Early C****** pressie to self

I bought a Murphy Richards soup maker after reading this thread but the veg and bacon soup I made today was like dish water! Help! Please! I used mixed frozen veg and a stock pot but no potatoes and set it to chunky.

But it ended up all watery!

Use less water next time? Try again with some potato as well as the veg? Put it back in and blend it? Do a different recipe altogether to get the feel of the machine?

Definitely add potato and/or some other root vegetables such as parsnips, swede etc. My daughter borrowed mine today to use up some leftover veg - red cabbage, sweet potato, red and green peppers and onion. But there wasn't really enough sweet potato (and it doesn't thicken quite as much as ordinary potatoes - less starch I think), so it was thinner. Not watery exactly, but thinner than she'd expected.
If you want a chunky soup, then you need more veg and less water, I'd say! Just keep experimenting. And look up recipes online - there are plenty out there.

Thank you! Makes sense about starchy veg..potatoes etc. I will persevere!

Don't make the mistake that I made if using lentils. My recipe said 50g of lentils but it didn't look much so I put in 120g and - guess what? It came out like wall paper paste - you could stand a spoon up in it. 50g would have been plenty although it was fine when watered down.

No matter how you make your soup, you will be hungry again very shortly after eating/drinking it. Unless you add meat and have it as a stew.

Gosh, vegetarians must be permanently hungry!

Strangely enough, I am not, Indinana, and I eat a lot of soup made in my soupmaker.

Wotanuisance, don't forget that frozen veg will contain water, and water down your soup.
While you are getting used to your soupmaker, use the minimum water measurement. You can always thin it down with hot water if it's too thick.

Jingle I am a vegetarian and not permanently hungry at all.

Also, I wasn't sure if I should be adding hot stock or cold. when I use my slow cooker, I add hot stock.

Cold with the soup maker.

I very rarely use meat in my soups and they are very filling!

A soup maker is a very different concept from a slow cooker and that is why you use cold - think of it like a kettle.

You are all tempting me. I was so anti the idea of a soup maker - I have saucepans and blender (which I hardky ever use). I am no cook, but do love fresh home made soup. Can I justify yet another gadget!

Durhamjen I was vegetarian for many years and I was never hungry either. You seriously don't need to eat meat to feel full, do you

seacliff go for it! My initial reaction was the same - why on earth would I need another gadget when I can make perfectly good soup using a pan and a blender? However, I have had my soup maker for only a few days now and I know it was one of my better decisions, so much easier and quicker than pots and pans and blenders. And less washing up, which is always a big plus for me

We like quite a big bowl of soup - would they do enough for 4 people?

Also, I don't really want to pay more than £50, so is the saute option really good to have? Do those who have it, use it?

I am veggie, I always thought frying onions/garlic first made difference to the flavour? I'm googling prices and hoping for an offer. come on Morphy Richards!

They definitely make enough for 4 people. When I use it at the maximum level there are usually 5 very generously sized portions. I do have the sauté function and I have to say I haven't yet tried it without this, so I don't know if the ones without this option are OK. You could always sauté separately I guess, but that kind of defeats the object of the 'one pot' benefit.
Someone upthread mentioned getting the MR sauté one for £49.99 on eBay from Cooperative Electricals.

seacliff here's a link to the eBay one

Thanks Indi.

Not too old.... 50g of lentils look such a small amount, but I will heed your advice!