The soup maker: a must-have or money down the drain?
In the category of “nowadays, we don’t have to make an effort for anything anymore”: the soup maker. These days, we’re seeing them on the shelves of more and more home, garden and kitchenware stores. Some people go absolutely wild for this thing, while others think it’s completely useless. Could this be your purchase of the year? Or is it a hype that’s secretly not all that exciting?
A soup maker is essentially a kind of blender with a heating function. It purées your soup until perfectly smooth and heats the whole thing up. A regular blender doesn’t do the heating part. That’s why a soup maker really is an appliance in its own right. But then again, it isn’t. Because if you turn off the heating function, it’s basically just a blender. You can also use it to make sauces and smoothies.
It’s just incredibly easy
For soup fans who would rather be lazy than tired, the soup maker is a gift from heaven. You can still eat fresh, homemade soups, but without having to make any effort whatsoever. Your job? Roughly chop your vegetables, prepare some stock and press the on button. That’s it. Many soup makers also have multiple functions. This lets you make your soup exactly the way you like it. With chunks, without chunks… Without chunks…
It does something magical (but not really)
An appliance that makes ready-to-eat, fresh, hot soup with just the press of a button. It’s almost magic. At the same time, it also takes some of the magic out of making soup. Because really, how romantic is it to stir a large pot of simmering soup? To smell and taste it until it’s perfect, while the aromas of your homemade soup spread throughout your home? No, that little bit of romance is crushed in an instant by your humming, vibrating soup maker. If you want to be the main character in your own soup story, then the soup maker may not be the best choice.
Yes: less washing up
This is especially an advantage for those of us without a dishwasher. Soup = mess, as every soup maker (of flesh and blood) knows. With an electric soup maker, you have far less mess. One appliance does the work, and you don’t need any of the other stuff. That means: less washing up!
Fast isn’t always better
Let’s talk a little more about letting that soup simmer for a good long while. About that romantic, magical, fairytale-like part of making soup yourself. Some soups really need that simmering time. They simply taste a lot better when they’ve been cooking for a long time. When the flavours have time to infuse and the soup can heat up slowly. Pea soup, for example. With a soup maker, everything happens at lightning speed. In fifteen minutes, you have piping-hot soup. Sometimes that’s very convenient; sometimes it simply doesn’t produce the best result.
Another kitchen appliance
If your kitchen cupboard already contains a blender, coffee maker, orange juicer, toaster, milk frother, sandwich and waffle maker and poffertjes pan, then it remains to be seen whether there’s room for a soup maker too. Or you’ll have to cram it in. Or have an extra kitchen cabinet installed. Your choice.
Not that much capacity
Most affordable soup makers aren’t particularly large. They usually have a capacity of 1 to 1.5 litres. That may of course be enough if you have a smaller household, but it obviously doesn’t come close to the capacity of your large soup pot. The good news: more and more larger models are coming onto the market. Some even come close to 3 litres. But yes… you’ll naturally pay more for those too.
Are you more lazy than tired, do you eat soup often and in large quantities, and do you have enough space in your kitchen cupboard? Then the soup maker is your new best kitchen friend. If you answer “no” to all those questions…
Read also:
- This is the secret ingredient for the tastiest tomato soup
- 10x ingredients that make your delicious soup unbelievably tasty
- 10x affordable gadgets you can score at Action (for next to nothing)
Image: still from the YouTube video The Philips Chef
