Hearst UK is the trading name of the National Magazine Company Ltd, 30 Panton Street, Leicester Square, London, SW1Y 4AJ. Soups season is far from over, and the best soup makers will turn out perfectly creamy concoctions to make your winter lunching a lot easier. I love my Soup Chef as it not only looks great but it saves me so much time and hassle, as well as washing up!

The Secret: The secret to Soup Chef’s super-smooth delicious soup is it alternates cooking and blending in one machine. Versatility: We looked for soup makers that didn't just stick to the norm and brought other uses where possible. It’s ideal for mum's and dads trying to sneak extra veg into their children or busy professionals looking to cook once and eat five times. While they can't go through the dishwasher because of the in-built heating element, they often come with settings for self-cleaning that will reach even the trickiest corners of the jug to remove any leftovers.

You can use the SoupChef Pro to make other things such as bolognese sauce, gravy, italian pasta soup, bhal, chocolate soup and much more. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and waste batteries must never be placed in your waste disposal or recycling bins.

As a 70 year "young" male living alone, its the perfect way to ensure that I have Healthy Meals each day without a great deal of effort. People who avoid cooking soup for their families because of the amount of time it takes to prepare ingredients and then the soup itself on a stovetop can benefit from this appliance. Our chunky soup was also flavourful, but the butternut squash wasn't quite cooked enough, so we would cook for a little longer next time.

The smooth soup setting is only 22 minutes, which means you can set your soup up to cook and finish your bowl within the same lunch break. To find out which brands have the best blending capabilities, we put them to the test at the Good Housekeeping Institute. Passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for our readers, she has tested everything from blenders to pizza ovens. Speed isn’t always best; on test, we found that some of the faster soup makers left some fresh ingredients raw at the end of a program. We also test each model’s blending ability, to see if they can blend without using the heating element.

Many can prepare smoothies, cold drinks, batters, dips, sauces and even baby food, so you can make your investment stretch further.The tomato and basil soup tasted a little raw, which was unsurprising given it only took 19 minutes to cook. Find your nearest electrical recycling point, or read our guide on how to donate or dispose of your appliances and tech for extra guidance.