Did anyone get either a soup maker or a bread maker for christmas, or for use over the christmas period? In my opinion, both are merely kitchen gadgets. I have had 2 breadmakers - both of which were returned under the 30 day MBG - and could not produce a good loaf, and I am a well capable baker. Having said that, I have a friend who has one and, whenever I have seen her efforts, the bread looks appetising and smells lovely. A soup maker, I cannot comment upon from personal experience, but if I was a soup eater, I would give one a go. Whenever I have made soup - usually lentil and vegetable - I have done it in the pressure cooker (lentils) and boiled it in the pan on the hob, using marmite to add flavour. If I had a maker, I would try out different recipes. I'm in a bit of a quandary because, although I love to bake cakes and pies and breads, I don't eat them. The solution? Open up a bakery and sell them. Or a car boot stall. Anyone got any opinions on soup makers? I think mum may like one.

I had chance to test one wasn't much impressed, a saucepan and a stick mixer or food precessor/liquidiser work best IMO

If you've got a proper kitchen, you don't need a "soup maker". Maybe convenient for someone living in a bedsit, but otherwise it's just an idea thought up by marketing types to separate people from their money.

What is a soup maker? A saucepan that costs £200?

If I were a betting man, I'd say the two you had weren't Panasonic ones and the one she has is