Morphy Richards 1.6L Total Control Soup Maker, Smart Response Technology, Portion Control, 9 Settings, Keep Warm Function, Cool Touch, Touchscreen Display, Stainless Steel Pan, White, 501020

Not made soup before; never had a soup maker. Wanted to get more veg into our diet - and swap out some meals occasionally for soups. As a subscriber to consumer champions Which?, I looked at their soup maker tests & reviews and this model was the outstanding winner - so I bought it. It's very straightforward to use (and I'm tech-averse): it has an inner jug that does all the work and lifts out for cleaning, it sautes (no separate frying pan needed), has 3 soup-type programmes - smooth, medium & chunky, a blender, pre-clean mode, does smoothies, and keeps soups warm once made. The timer on the lid counts down during cooking. The manual comes with a few recipes but the BBC Good Food website has lots of soupmaker recipes. It's a powerful machine, feels robust and is heavy to lift. It isn't compact in my opinion but it can make up to 1600ml which is a positive trade-off for me. (freeze excess), or simply make less. My only niggle is that you have to disconnect the cable when the program is finished - there is an on-off switch, but the off seems to operate only with the saute function. I might email them about this as it might be me. I love that you can make a delicious soup using just 3 utensils: a chopping board, knife and a WOODEN SPOON (don't scratch the non-stick base with metal versions). Blending otherwise chunky soups into velvety heaven is a feature that really elevates this appliance. It's not cheap (shop around and be careful to pick this model number because several variances omit the saute function) but if you want a top soup maker that is simple, solid with clever features, and works very, very well this meets your brief - and brilliantly.

This is the second one I bought. This one is a gift. Recipient saw mine in action and decided on the spot she would like one. Such a time saver, and oh the bliss of the pre-clean. Recipe book is useful and all the recipes can be adapted. I had a collection of recipes that I use and they have all bee successful in this wonderful gadget. So glad i bought it, worth every penny.This is an update, on my l October 2017 review. The first one I bought, for myself, developed a faulty vessel release red button. Amazon agreed to issue a refund and I ordered a replacement. I returned the original one on Tuesday of this week via Royal Mail. I was amazed, two hours later, to get an email advising me that my return was in transit and a refund had been issued. I ordered a replacement immediately it came today, Thursday, two days later. My refund is also in my bank account today. This in spite of order info saying it may be delivered after Christmas. Well done Amazon. I know you have had complaints recently about deliveries, but in this case, credit where it is due.I have checked the button release function and have noticed that it is considerably more positive than the original one ever was, so perhaps the fault was there from the start.

A good gadget to have for saving time in the kitchen. I have made soup for many years but had begun to find the process tedious. Chopping and preparing ingredients, bringing the soup to the boil then simmering; typically the whole process would take a couple of hours.In many ways a soup maker is just a blender with a heater and programming chip but it does save time. I chose the Morphy Richards partly on manufacturer's reputation and also because of the range of features, especially the keep warm function.This soup maker does make good soup. If I'm honest I think my traditional method produces better soup but the difference is not so large as to make me not use this and I think that over time I can adapt the recipes and devise new ones to work in the soup maker. The rating is four stars because it is noisy, awkward to clean and the instruction and recipe booklet could be improved (see below).The instruction book seems to have been printed for an earlier model but then modified because some things don't apply to this model. For example the sauté function can only be used with the lid on the machine. The instructions suggest otherwise. The recipes are also misleading and can be improved. First ignore the suggested preparation times - these are all too short. Unless you are a top class kitchen knife expert it's going to take you more than five minutes to peel and chop the vegetables that, for example, go into the tomato and basil soup. I'd estimate typical preparation time is around fifteen to twenty minutes for peeling, chopping and weighing ingredients. After following the recipe for my first batch of tomato soup (apart from using fresh tomato instead of tinned) I decided to cut down on the potato. I think potato is being used as a thickening agent because you can't make a roux (butter and flour) with the soup maker. If you use the suggested portion of potato the tomato soup tastes more of potato than tomato. My advice would be to adapt the recipes, then experiment with your own.Overall the soup maker has meant I can make tasty soups in under an hour start to finish. Do use the pre-clean function after making your soup while it doesn't totally clean the interior it does make the final clean much easier. One tip would be to have a study deep measuring jug next to the soup maker so you can lift off the lid and place it upright in the jug for support. This keeps the vicious chopping blade safe and stops soup dripping on surfaces.