How to Clean a Burnt Soup Maker
Burnt food at the bottom of the pan, or in this case soup maker is a sad fact of life. There are measures you can take to help prevent it from happening, but that’s not why you’re here. So more on that later. For now, let’s look at how to clean burnt food from a soup maker.
How To Remove Burnt Food From A Soup Maker
Due to the way the soup maker is constructed, you have to tread carefully when it comes to cleaning. You can’t be applying any harsh chemicals or too much pressure and you certainly can’t use any abrasives. There are 2 methods for cleaning the burnt remains of your food from a soup maker, and they are:
- The wash cycle
Some soup makers have a dedicated wash cycle that is designed to remove dirt, stains and burnt-on food. If your machine has this facility, operate as per the instruction manual. - By hand
If your machine doesn’t have a cleaning cycle or the cleaning cycle failed to remove the stain, you’ll have to resort to the old fashioned by hand method.
The by-hand method is not a quick fix solution as you will see but it is effective at clearing burnt on food from the bottom of the soup maker or any saucepan for that matter. Here’s how to do it.
Removing Burnt Food From A Soup Maker In 4 Easy Steps
If your soup maker doesn’t have a wash cycle or the wash cycle has not removed the burnt food from your soup maker follow these steps for an easy cleaning solution.
- Mix the solution
Add ⅔ of a cup of biological washing powder and mix with around 2 inches (5 cms) of hot water in the soup maker. - Allow to soak
Leave the mixture in the soup maker to soak overnight. - Scrub remnants away
Using a non-abrasive, non-stick friendly scrubbing brush or a non-scratch scourer, scrub the remaining burnt stuff away. - Rinse with clean water
Be sure to remove any stains, soap suds and dirty water, rinse clean and your good to go next time you want soup.
How Does It Work?
Biological washing powder contains enzymes that are naturally found in the human body, 2, in particular, are great at getting rid of burnt-on food. They are Lipase and Protease. Lipase is known to break down oils and fats, and protease breaks down protein chains. These 2 work together on the burnt-on food during soaking and should make the mess easy to clean off.
This method will also work on regular pans, microwave plates, ovens, grills and many more applications in the kitchen.
What Causes Food To Burn In A Soup Maker?
The reason food gets burnt onto the bottom of a soup maker is because that’s where the heating element is situated. So it’s always going to be hotter at the bottom of the soup maker and that’s why if the food’s going to get burnt, it will be at the bottom. Some foods are more likely to burn in a soup maker and should be avoided if at all possible.
These include:
- Baked beans
- Tomato puree
- Passata
- Tomato paste
- Tomato concentrate
- Pasta sauce
- Bolognese sauce
- Salsa sauce
The observant among you might notice a commonality to all of the above, tomatoes. It’s not the tomatoes that are the problem though, it’s the viscosity or thickness of the ingredients. The sauces and the baked beans have added thickening agents to make them thicker, which will be more likely to stick to the soup maker bottom.
All of the tomato-based products mentioned above are too concentrated, therefore thick and will also stick to the bottom of the soup maker. You see in a saucepan, we are continually stirring the pot and this prevents anything sticking to the bottom (within reason). But the soup maker only has a blade attachment at the top so anything that’s too thick will just sit on the bottom, in the same place.
It is possible to use all of the above ingredients in the soup maker if you want to, just water them down first, or add them after the soup is finished cooking. Here’s a handy chart for ease of understanding.
| Product | How to use in the soup maker |
|---|---|
| Store-bought pasta sauce or salsa | Add after the soup has cooked |
| Tomato paste or concentrate | Dilute 1 tablespoon with 1 cup of water |
| Tomato puree or passata | Dilute 50/50 with water |
| Crushed tomatoes | Add ⅔ of a cup of water to every cup of tomatoes |
| Chopped tomatoes | Add ½ cup of water to 1 cup of tomatoes |
| Quartered fresh tomatoes | Use without adding any extra water |
If you are interested in finding recipes to use in your soup maker head over to our soup maker recipes page by clicking here.
Burnt Beyond Repair?
If your soup maker is burnt beyond repair, you may want to consider getting a new one. If that’s the case, be sure to check out our guide to buying soup makers here.
Frequently Asked Questions
If your soup maker burns at the bottom you are probably using a liquid that’s too thick (like tomato puree) Try watering it down.
You clean the soup maker by washing the blade and top with warm water on a sponge, never immerse in water. The jug can be cleaned in the same way but always rinse well.
Try soaking it immediately in hot water, if that doesn’t work, soak overnight in water and biological washing powder solution.
If you soup maker keeps beeping it is overfull. Remove the contents down to the full line and start the machine again.
