Not happy with this product have tried several recipes out of book everyone has burnt and is so bad it gets thrown away. I wish I had bought a different soup maker. I would definitely not recommend this product

This mixer looks the business and going on looks alone you'd imagine that it was a capable kitchen machine, however, it fails to deliver in capability or practicality. Closer inspection reveals a plasticky machine, that is suspiciosly light. The main problem lies in the motor; it just isn't powerful enough, giving you just five minutes of bread kneading time before you are advised to allow the motor to cool. Even using the whisk to make meringue will cause the motor to eventually overheat.The blender works fine but struggles with ice. it has a glass jug but the lid feels flimsy.Used as a cooking device, it certainly works, to a degree, but just isn't that practical, unless, I suppose, you have a tiny, ill-equipped kitchen but then why would you put such a huge machine in it? I can't see the benefit of using this machine to cook in when I already have a hob, with which I can get much better results. I didn't like the results from the Nutrimaster and although I'm only an amateur cook, I can make better food than the recipes provided.Due to its large footprint, lacklustre performance and impracticality, we've decided not to give this any counter-space in our kitchen. If I was to spend this amount of money, I would go for a capable, less-gimicky device.

ok but disapointed it did not come with steamer basket which costs an extra £20.00. also a little confusing to understand how to start machine and the on switch is underneith machine which is not very practical..

I was so excited to get a chance to try this mixer. The idea of an induction plate for the mixing bowl sounded like a great innovation and my head was dancing with visions of silky smooth vegetable soups! When the mixer arrived, it certainly looked the part. It was large, chunky, heavy, and things like the paddle attachments felt reassuringly heavy. It all screamed "quality". Then I made the mistake of using it, and it was all downhill from there....

I first tried using it to mix the dough for tamales (Mexican maize dumplings) which involved using it to mix and soften some lard. The mixer wasn't having any of it. I was surprised, but decided that was obviously too much work and we'd better start easier. So I tipped in the ingredients for brownie batter, which I'd expect ANY stand mixer to blend with ease. Seconds after starting, the motor gave out entirely. Therefore I never got the chance to test the blender attachment or the induction element. Hugely disappointing, but at least I have got the kitchen space back again.

I was so excited to get a chance to try this mixer. The idea of an induction plate for the mixing bowl sounded like a great innovation and my head was dancing with visions of silky smooth vegetable soups! When the mixer arrived, it certainly looked the part. It was large, chunky, heavy, and things like the paddle attachments felt reassuringly heavy. It all screamed "quality". Then I made the mistake of using it, and it was all downhill from there....I first tried using it to mix the dough for tamales (Mexican maize dumplings) which involved using it to mix and soften some lard. The mixer wasn't having any of it. I was surprised, but decided that was obviously too much work and we'd better start easier. So I tipped in the ingredients for brownie batter, which I'd expect ANY stand mixer to blend with ease. Seconds after starting, the motor gave out entirely. Therefore I never got the chance to test the blender attachment or the induction element. Hugely disappointing, but at least I have got the kitchen space back again.

This is a large device and will take up considerable space on a kitchen worktop or in a cupboard, so it needs to be great to justify that. I failed to discover greatness – it’s a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. I haven’t worked out where the benefit lies in combining the blending, steaming and weighing functions into one combination device. The combination of functions seems to compromise the results and the instructions don’t add much clarity.I’ve decided to stick with simpler devices that do one thing and do it well.

[Reviewed by Mrs O'] Well...I have taken some time to do this review to ensure I explored all elements of using the Nutrimaster N12001A Optimix Stand Mixer and Blender properly, which included looking for online videos to try and help me master some of the trickier functionality. The fact that I had to look elsewhere to try and understand how to work the machine was due to the fact that I couldn't get the cuisine function to work AT ALL. Now I followed the instructions to the letter multiple times on several occasions but with no luck and no heat produced. After several attempts on different days I gave up (mental note to self - do not attempt to make French onion soup for invited guests without checking if the machine function works first - what 'fun' that was!) and have come to the conclusion that the heating element must be broken or the instructions are incorrect - either way this has been tremendously disappointing as it's the main selling point of the machine. However, if anyone can tell me what I'm doing wrong then please leave a comment and let me know!So to the mixing element of the machine, which worked well, producing excellent results for cakes and whisking eggs/cream etc. The metal mixing bowl is large, so can manage a large cake mix easily, it's also light enough to use on the weighing scales if you like to cumulatively add ingredients before mixing. The attachments are OK, not the highest quality, but work fine. I struggled to get the attachments fitted at first, but now I have the knack they are easy. The ability to put them in the dishwasher alongside the bowl is a bonus. One thing I do find a bit frustrating with using the bowl is the need to keep reprogramming the functions, if used, every time you need to lift up the machine head. I found this very annoying especially as programming the buttons seems a little complicated to begin with; if Nutrimaster could 'fix' this issue it would be considerably easier to use, especially when using the cuisine functionality (or attempting to at least!).The

This large appliance (and it really is big, be sure and check your space availability as this is akin to a small microwave in footprint and has the height of a blender) offers the flexibility of a blender that heats the contents with the bones of a steaming facility and built in scales. All very promising but the reality after some weeks of testing is that usability and flexibility is not as good as it could be and that has meant that we ended up favouring separate and more compact soup mixers/ blenders and steamers.Why so? Well the jug was at times reluctant to fix securely to the base and equally difficult to easily remove, perhaps a fault with our particular test unit but increasingly frustrating. Blending certainly was efficient if a little noisy and it heated contents but our existing dedicated soup mixer was just as efficient and faster. To heat, you seem to have to have the blender on so any hot food will be blended. Cleaning of the jug was also not as easy as other blenders.The steamer worked well but again, the same results could be achieved just as easily with a dedicated steamer such as those from Tefal that would also offer more flexibility in steaming multiple foods at the same time and also take up less storage space.The built in scales are useful but not a feature that turns this into a must have gadget compared to buying separate specialist appliances. We really did have high hopes for this but the useability issues, limitations for heating and steaming and sheer bulk of this appliance mean that we prefer to use separate appliances that work better and still take up less storage space.

Let me get the bad stuff out of the way.Mine didn't come with the steam basket. I wasn't bothered by this as I already have a steamer.Worse is the instructions. Well, those for cleaning it. The cleaning instructions are actually the solutions from the troubleshooting guide. Cleaning is pretty simple, but it would be nice to have the instructions written down.The soup maker is pretty easy to use, once you realise that you have to press "Off" to turn it on!In use, it's a bit noisy, but so is my food processor.I've only used the quick soup setting, and it's not bad. It was a bit too corse for a smooth soup, but too fine for a chunky one. It would have been better with a little longer cooking.I will continue to experiment with this, as that is why I got it. I have the feeling that using the manual settings will give better results.I might have given this a 4 star rating, but I can't get in touch with the company. They don't like answering the phone.

I used this at the weekend to have a go at making soup. The item comes nicely presented with a colourful recipe book and a DVD. The soup maker itself is also quite an attractive design, albeit slightly on the bulky side. The buttons on the front are easy enough to just wipe clean and in general look quite smart, even though, in my opinion they do feel a little bit on the cheap side when pressing them but that's only a small complaint. I had a quick look on the Nutrimaster Facebook page to see what recipes they had on there as well which was quite helpful and watched the DVD that it came with to get a rough idea of how to use the item and clean it. However, watching the DVD was a mistake. I was all fired up, keen and excited to use the soup machine when it came but after watching the DVD I felt very disappointed (I think we both did) because it really didn't seem to do the machine any favours at all and kind of made me wish we hadn't have gone to the effort of going and getting ingredients in especially to use it.It made the machine seem pointless if you have to chop, brown, cook, prepare and god knows what else with the ingredients before using the soup maker. You may as well just do it yourself manually was my attitude after watching the DVD, and in addition to that I didn't like the way it looked like the machine wobbled when mixing up the ingredients. However, there are feet on the bottom of the machine to make it adhere to the worktops so we didn't actually have a problem with this but it was a concern after watching the DVD. The DVD should act to inspire you and put you at ease with the machine but personally I found it had the opposite effect and I think it needs scrapping.Sorry, I got a bit side tracked there. In the end we went with the Tomato Soup recipe from the recipe booklet provided. I have to admit we didn't stick to the recipe as described because it called for 500 ml of water to be added which just seemed like way too much! So we added 300 ml instead and the soup was still quite thin and runny to

At its heart, this is a heated blender/mixer, but it brings a lot of other useful features, along with a few strange usability issues that have resulted in the two lost stars.The weirdest thing is that the blend function has to be on in order for the heating function to start. So, for instance, if you want to heat some water in order to use the steamer attachment, you'll essentially be blending at the same time. If I'm totally wrong on this being a requirement, then please let me know, since I couldn't figure out an alternative method based on the manual.My wife has found the controls quite unintuitive and confusing...it's possible to get used to the workflow, but you may need to refer to the manual for the first few uses.Besides that, the steamer attachment works extremely well.Anyway, it excels as a soup maker. Bung the ingredients in and it will simultaneously heat and blend them. Super convenient, if noisy, and it's produced great results for me. The attached scale is useful and accurate.It works well as a basic blender, too, and I haven't added an ingredients that it hasn't been able to handle easily.Unfortunately, removing the blade for cleaning is a little awkward and tricky.Other quality of life issues are the lack of storage space for the attachments...it'd be great if they could be slotted onto the side of the machine for instance.Overall I'm both impressed and disappointed by the Nutrimaster. I expect to use it a lot for soups, especially in winter, but cleaning it will be a hassle.

I was interested in this product as it claimed it could do 50 kitchen tasks in one, including ice cream and soup. I already have a blender attached to a food processor but decided to upgrade to this as I had been considering separate soup and ice cream machine purchases. Unfortunately I really cant see how this does 50 tasks. It is a blender, and a good one, but is not a multi functional piece of equipment. My main problem is actually the instructions- they are very brief and I still dont know if I'm just missing how to use it. It came with two recipe books, and I have tried a few within them, each one tells you what setting to use and how long. I did manage a soup, and was suprised to find it hot, but I cant work out if one of the settings included heat or if it was just the degree of power/speed that created heat. Of note all the soups are vegetable based, and I dont think it would cook meat within the soup. It was also very loud on the high setting- much higher than my mums soup machine, so loud that I couldnt hear the timer I had set (It has a timer function but I couldn work out how to use it with the high setting so had to use my kitchen timer). I also made ice cream, which included frozen fruit, cream (I used quark) and ice cubes. I think I might not have cut the banana small enough before I froze it, and the blender really struggled and kept getting blocked. With a little stirring I finally managed to get it blending and was really suprised, it tasted great and the texture was right- I had expected it to be a bit ice crystally but it wasnt. It doesnt cool so again doesnt work like an ice cream machine but just blends already cold ingredients. Overall a little disappointed but I'm fairly sure I have missed a bit of its functioning through the lack of a good manual- I've had a look online hoping for a more detailed one but havent found it yet.

I was interested in this product as it claimed it could do 50 kitchen tasks in one, including ice cream and soup. I already have a blender attached to a food processor but decided to upgrade to this as I had been considering separate soup and ice cream machine purchases. Unfortunately I really cant see how this does 50 tasks. It is a blender, and a good one, but is not a multi functional piece of equipment. My main problem is actually the instructions- they are very brief and I still dont know if I'm just missing how to use it. It came with two recipe books, and I have tried a few within them, each one tells you what setting to use and how long. I did manage a soup, and was suprised to find it hot, but I cant work out if one of the settings included heat or if it was just the degree of power/speed that created heat. Of note all the soups are vegetable based, and I dont think it would cook meat within the soup. It was also very loud on the high setting- much higher than my mums soup machine, so loud that I couldnt hear the timer I had set (It has a timer function but I couldn work out how to use it with the high setting so had to use my kitchen timer). I also made ice cream, which included frozen fruit, cream (I used quark) and ice cubes. I think I might not have cut the banana small enough before I froze it, and the blender really struggled and kept getting blocked. With a little stirring I finally managed to get it blending and was really suprised, it tasted great and the texture was right- I had expected it to be a bit ice crystally but it wasnt. It doesnt cool so again doesnt work like an ice cream machine but just blends already cold ingredients. Overall a little disappointed but I'm fairly sure I have missed a bit of its functioning through the lack of a good manual- I've had a look online hoping for a more detailed one but havent found it yet.

This machine was simply an agony. We never managed to create anything nice from it - a leak and potato soup that resembled tepid beer froth. I honestly can't see how this machine will make anything particularly appealing as fundamentally its just a food blender and steamer/boiler. We noticed the machine had a tendency to get unpleasantly hot which I found a worry.If this machine can make any food you won't find much help to do so. The supplied booklet seemed to suggest most recipes were something you made in the blender and then transferred to an oven or pan which seemed to defeat the object. There is very little support and information available to help you get the best from the machine.After several attempts we gave up - if it can make nice meals the company seems to supply very little in the way of help to get you to do that and experimenting with this device was just too much trouble.

This thing is Giant. It's much taller and bulkier than my kenwood chef, so be aware it'll take a big chunk of your worktop space. You certainly won't want to be lugging it in and out of a cupboard.On unboxing it I was unimpressed. It's black, and ugly, and has a lumpy "soviet" look with odd lettering, a clunky looking screen with little white bits caught behind it (maybe bits of the polystyrene packaging?) and very poorly finished raw edges where the plastic casing is pierced for buttons and switches. It certainly doesn't look like £400 worth.It doesn't feel it either. Attaching and removing the (poorly finished) attachments is stiff and feels insecure. Nothing like the kenwood which even in today's made in China plastic version still has an air of quality.I looked at the instruction book for an idea of where to start. Leaving aside the complete omission of any mention of the clear plastic shrouding under the head (it just clips off but no clue what it's for), this is a truly dreadful booklet. It talks about induction heating (which clearly isn't here) and seems as confused as I am by the controls. I heated some water in the steel bowl to try it out. I'm not sure I could repeat the experiment though, it was more luck than judgment.I decided to view the included DVD. This showed a rather pleasant cheffy chap gamely plodding through recipes for French onion soup, risotto, a smoothie and bizarrely some chocolate fudge. I could have happily done any of these with a sharp knife and a hob, but the poor bloke had to use (as well as say) "The Nutrimaster Optimix" He did his best, with lists of ingredients on screen which were different from what he read out, and at one point a wild grab in totally the wrong place for the speed knob. The film could have used some decent editing but Cheffy Chap was a hero.I'm really not sure who might want or use this. Gadgeteers will want better design and quality, traditionalists won't look at it. It's really really dear at the original price. Save your money and buy a Kenwood or a bami

I was put off by the included DVD but persevered anyway. The box indicates a super-easy approach to soups, but you still have to peel and chop all your vegetables, and provide bouillon, then 'buzz it' for three to ten minutes and then let it cook for whatever length of time. With a hand buzzer and a stove top I can make the identical soup from scratch in less than half the time. It makes sorbets, too. I can do that by hand as well.If your kitchen is a bare room but for the sink and a cupboard, this is the gadget for you. Otherwise, treat yourself to a hand buzzer and a slow cooker and get more done.It is, however, better than trying to heat pizza with an iron and a hair dryer in a hotel room, but that's not really a selling point.

The Nutrimaster offers a lot by way of functionality, beyond that normally expected of a mixer and blender - it cooks stuff! I suppose the first question might be, why do you want, or need, a blender to cook? Well, it can melt chocolate, for instance, although why you might want it to make soup, sauces, risotto or, for that matter mashed potato was something that I put to the test and, to be honest, found the machine wanting. The blender jug is certainly a useful addition as might the mincer mechanism, of which I found not a trace on the website, which is in any case, somewhat lacking in my opinion. I tested the blender making a fruit and yoghurt smoothie which was accomplished easily and quickly; so far so good. I then decided to use its cuisine function to cook up a garlic mash and followed the instructions in the cookery book, having first watched the included video to see how to operate the push button technology which drives this product. Ignoring the suggested time of 2o minutes, I set the temp to maximum and time to thirty minutes. Resetting again at the end of this time for a further thirty mins, the potatoes were very nearly cooked, but, at this point I gave up. Which brings me back to my original question: why would you want a mixer that can cook? It is pretty easy to cook mashed potato on the stove, ditto risotto, but if it works, maybe the convenience of not having to watch or stir all the time might make this a convenient kitchen tool - except you still have to watch over it to some extent just as you would in a conventional kitchen. I teach professional cookery, so perhaps I am biased to some extent, but even I can see some point in being able to automate basic tasks, if it works. Unfortunately, my limited experimentation suggests that this machine does not work well enough to reliable do the automated tasks well enough to save you time, which is a shame, because the process of making a smoothly mashed potato could be one that a machine, not too unlike this, might be good at. As it is, I

The first thing that grabs you when if arrives is the size of the box....it's huge. You may think the packaging will reveal a smaller thing inside but let me tell you, this apiance is slow huge. Like r cans of beans tall without the glass mixer bowl on top.The overall footprint will mean you need plenty of space to store once used and plenty of work surface for it to sit on when in use. Don't underestimate how big this is.The next thing that struck me was the colour...it's a deep lovely blue.Next I noticed that there's a lot of plastic to this machine and not what I was expecting given its price. The mechanism fof the blender that sits on top, is all plastic. Now, I haven't used it often but I'm not convinced it'll last. The entire assembly feels cheap and weak.The utensils that come with the machine are a sturdy mixing jowl, two different paddles, a whisk and a dough mixing arm. All these feel reassuringly strong.The controller buttons to the side all bar the rotary knob, also feel flimsy and cheap which I'd very disappointing. If they stand up to constant use then terrific, they just don't feel like they will.In operation it's a game of 2 halves. The company tools aren't particularly self explanatory and whatever setting you've chosen is immediately lost if you lift the mixing head away from the bowl. This make no sense to me since you have to reprogram the machine. Why not pause the program to lift the head, add whatever you need to add and then it resumes when the mixer head is returned?Anyway, fitting the utensils to the mixer head is simple and works well with a reassuring noise as it does what it says it'll do.Underneath the mixing bowl there's a heating plate that warms the bowl if, for example, you need to melt butter or warm soup. Nice feature which worked well.Overall there's too many annoyances with this machine and parts that just don't feel premium for the price you'll pay. The hinge that lifts the mixer head from the bowl is stuff and makes a he'll of a scratching sound when in operation and the hi

The first thing that grabs you when if arrives is the size of the box....it's huge. You may think the packaging will reveal a smaller thing inside but let me tell you, this apiance is slow huge. Like r cans of beans tall without the glass mixer bowl on top.The overall footprint will mean you need plenty of space to store once used and plenty of work surface for it to sit on when in use. Don't underestimate how big this is.The next thing that struck me was the colour...it's a deep lovely blue.Next I noticed that there's a lot of plastic to this machine and not what I was expecting given its price. The mechanism fof the blender that sits on top, is all plastic. Now, I haven't used it often but I'm not convinced it'll last. The entire assembly feels cheap and weak.The utensils that come with the machine are a sturdy mixing jowl, two different paddles, a whisk and a dough mixing arm. All these feel reassuringly strong.The controller buttons to the side all bar the rotary knob, also feel flimsy and cheap which I'd very disappointing. If they stand up to constant use then terrific, they just don't feel like they will.In operation it's a game of 2 halves. The company tools aren't particularly self explanatory and whatever setting you've chosen is immediately lost if you lift the mixing head away from the bowl. This make no sense to me since you have to reprogram the machine. Why not pause the program to lift the head, add whatever you need to add and then it resumes when the mixer head is returned?Anyway, fitting the utensils to the mixer head is simple and works well with a reassuring noise as it does what it says it'll do.Underneath the mixing bowl there's a heating plate that warms the bowl if, for example, you need to melt butter or warm soup. Nice feature which worked well.Overall there's too many annoyances with this machine and parts that just don't feel premium for the price you'll pay. The hinge that lifts the mixer head from the bowl is stuff and makes a he'll of a scratching sound when in operation and the hi

it was excellent for making smoothies.Unfortunately,it stopped working after 4 weeks.I am currently awaiting an answer as whether I am going have a replacement sent .I am very reluctant to have another one as I have lost confidence in this product.So far there has been no suggestion of a refund of money.