Morphy Richards Sauté & Soup Maker, 1.6L, 4 Settings, Smooth, Chunky, Juice, Blend Pause Function, Family Size, Non-Stick Coated Jug, Detachable Power Cord, Stainless Steel, 501014

Just bought this a few weeks ago and really loving the simplicity of making soup in this. The sauté is perfect and worth the extra money. I’ve made about 5 soups and the smooth option is the creamiest I ever had. My young daughter has loved flavours of veggies she normally wouldn’t eat so that’s been a real boon.

I have waited till use obviously to write this review and this has proved to be a healthy timesaver in our household. I specifically wanted a soup maker with a saute function, so that I could brown onions, garlic, bacon, etc, pre cooking and this works a treat. I should have read the instructions first though, as tip from me to remember the saute function does not work unless you have the lid off!Usually, because of the pans I use, I have to cook soup, pour it into liquidiser (as Le Creuset pans can't use a bamix on as I discovered to my cost,) blend, return to pan. This takes all of that away.It is especially easy, if like me, you stock up on frozen veg, we now have a freezer full of mushrooms, peppers, garlic, mixed herbs, carrots. I take what I want out beforehand, leave it to defrost for a bit and then just put it in the soup maker, with a stock cube mixed up in some boiling water. As I say, I saute onions and garlic, bacon, first then add the other veg and seasoning. I put the lid on, I choose the consistency, which for us is always smooth, then I press go and in 21 minutes I have perfect blended soup. You will think that the maximum level doesn't seem to go up very far. Well it is enough to make 3 large bowls of soup. Yesterday I made carrot, lentil and bacon, one of our firm favourites. It was ready in the time it took to put the shopping away and tasted amazing.This is so much quicker and less messy than how we had been making soup. Cleaning is simply a case of wiping the blade, you can't submerge it in water as it comes of the lid fully, but all the functions are on it. You also can only wash the soup container itself on the inside, but I find a bit of liquid and a cloth to wipe round then rinse out and it takes 5 mins and is back on the work surface for the next lot.We had been buying the fresh soups in supermarkets, but this is better as we know what ingredients are in there and cheaper, as the frozen veg is about £1.00 to £1.50 a packet and you aren't using much of it each time.I have found that it makes quite a thick consistency, so am putting in a cup full of hot water when the programme has ended and stirring it around.I have been wanting a maker for ages, and am glad that I took the decision to get one and I am purposely leaving it out, so it doesn't get forgotten in a cupboard somewhere.The only thing I have found as a slight grumble, is that this does create a lot of steam during the cooking process, to counter this in our kitchen, I am putting it on the cold unlit hob and switching on the extractor fan, as I found if not the kitchen gets very steamed up. I am sure it would also work if you put it near an open window to save your walls getting a tad wet.

I first bought this product for my daughter, as after leaving home her diet seemed rather rubbish, and I wanted to encourage her to eat more vegetables. She absolutely loved it and made soups regularly, so although I did think it seemed a bit of a gimmick, and was initially put off by the many reviews of it blowing fuses etc, I succumbed to temptation, inspired by the many excellent reviews (and the two year guarantee from Amazon), bought one for myself. And it's brilliant! Have made quite a few absolutely delicious soups so far, originally sticking to the ones provided in the MR recipe book, and then adapting my favourites and adding spices and extra ingredients etc. It is so incredibly quick and easy - although I originally rather scorned such a gadget when it is comparatively easy to make soup on the hob and blend it, this is truly in a different league. Loving the saute function - I think it is worth investing in this particular model for this alone. I am an intrinsically lazy cook, but rarely buy any processed/ready made foods, and this is my new favourite toy, especially when I'm home alone and want to eat real food with no effort. Great for using up sad odds and ends from the bottom of the fridge too. I use Marigold organic stock powder and so far the results have been beyond delicious, especially when you add a few herbs and spices.I rather suspect that the fusing issue might be because of steam getting into the works, as it does steam up quite a lot especially when you first open it up after making your soup, so I have only made one batch at a time, and then after wiping it out (easy) I leave it by my Aga (or any warm place would do) to dry out thoroughly before using again, and though relatively early days and I might yet be proved wrong, have had no trouble yet.Overall I am extraordinarily delighted with this and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this product.