Cleaning My Soup Maker

 

I don’t know about you, but there are times when I do worry about cleaning my soup maker.

That’s fine when we remember to empty the soupmaker and give it a swirl under some water when it’s newly cooked, but it isn’t so easy if it’s emptied and soup residue is allowed to sit for any length of time in the pot before washing.

There are times, such as when we want to make juices or just blend something in our soup makers,that we don’t want a faint lingering smell hanging around, especially if what’s been cooked before included garlic or strong onions, or perhaps even some chilli powder.

I hope you all remember that we shouldn’t immerse any part of our soup makers in water.  That means they are NOT dishwasher friendly at all.

Rinsing Out

For a quick rinse out, I fold a cloth to hold over the contacts while I fill my soup maker and give it a good brush out with some washing up liquid and hot water.  Then, I just rinse out and dry.  As much as I wash it with washing up liquid, I do sometimes find that the machine can have a slightly savoury smell afterwards.

Dry Cloth

I hear of people using this method quite frequently, although it isn’t the way for me.  They simply take a dry cloth, or some kitchen roll and wipe the blade and inner when it’s still warm from making the soup.

Some people swear by this method, but I found that smells lingered this way and I don’t like lingering smells.

Empty Cycle

This does it for me.

I rinse out with hot water and washing up liquid, then I put boiling water up to the maximum mark on my soup maker and choose the longer chunky setting.  After 28 minutes, any food that might linger on the blade is gone, along with the potential to have any smell hanging around.

I’ve started doing this for any break between soup and drinks or smoothies, as I tell myself that if there is no smell, there couldn’t possibly be any aftertaste.  It also makes the machine much easier to keep clean and without any effort at all.