We have all the famous ones including an air fryer, 2 electric pressure cookers, blender, 2 slow cookers, a bread maker, ice cream maker and of course a soup maker. 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. 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.
Increase the heat to high, add the stock and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, using the stir function occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Using a towel, hold the lid down and blend on the highest setting until the soup is silky in texture, 1 to 2 minutes. The RRP is £139 but you should be able to find it for under £100 if you shop around. The Cusinart Soup Maker and Blender looks to streamline the entire soup process. In addition to its stainless steel blades and four speeds, the 900-watt appliance features an embedded three-setting hot plate that lets you cook ingredients.
You can, cook, stir, simmer and blend in the one machine without the need for extra pots and pans and watch your ingredients as they cook inside the robust glass jar. You can adjust the heat settings, add ingredients and stir as cuisinart soup maker required to achieve the texture you want. Above the display sits a dial for controlling blending, which gives four speed options and a pulse, as well as a separate button at the side to operate the machine’s stirring function.
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. The Cuisinart blend and cook soup maker really doesn’t work, unless all you want is pureed soups it’s good for that, but that’s just about it. If you cut your vegetables with any bit of thickness, they don’t cook through well at all I don’t want a crunch in my soup and I don’t know of anyone else that does either. It holds onto smells as well, so if you use any seasonings and spices, it will stay no matter how well you clean it. Blending Power
This is the one thing it does well, it purees things to a pulp and that’s all it will do, don’t use it if you’re only wanting it chopped it won’t do that for you. Versatility
Not very versatile at all, like I said before it’s mainly for pureed soups and that’s about it nothing with any thickness or rustic style soups sadly.
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 cuisinart soup maker 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.
Durability
Really it’s hard to rate this because it hasn’t gotten any more use out of me since it is so bad. The Cuisinart SSB1U Soup Maker will brown and sweat vegetables, boil liquids and simmer soups, allowing you to prepare perfect soups and sauces all in one unit, saving time and washing up. Making a soup is as simple as browning the vegetables in the blender, adding the stock and whizzing it up.
And I’m not talking simply making soups, smoothies and shakes. 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. One downside, however, is that there are a lot of beeps.
The first thing you must ask yourself is whether or not you should get a soup maker, before you even start to consider which soup maker brand/product would suit you. The Soup Maker and Blender is as sleek an appliance as I’ve seen. With its glistening charcoal finish and easy-to-read bright red LED displays, it’s like something out of the dashboard of a Bentley. Bring a state-of-the-art soup maker into the equation, and that changes everything. Cleaning is easy, requiring a drop of detergent and warm water, then running through a two-minute simmer followed by a one-minute blend. Overall, it’s a premium device with some useful functions, though admittedly comes at a greater cost.
Turning the heat up to high and sealing the lid with the measuring cup, we left the mixture to cook. We then used this curry paste in the Thai chicken & red chilli soup. The smooth setting takes just 23 minutes, and my butternut squash and orange soup was delicious.