This is one of the real strengths of the hand blender – it makes it so much easier to produce a smooth soup.

If you have a large pan of soup made, all ready to puree it can be done very effectively in a food processor. The trouble is that this is a very awkward,messy and potentially dangerous way of doing it.

When most of us make soup we make a fairly large quantity – certainly more than will fit into a food processor or the goblet of a blender in one go. So we end up decanting batches of the soup into the processor and then back out again into a third container. We have to do this a number of times. This usually caues quite a bit of spillage and a whole heap of dirty dishes. Then you have to put it all back into the pan again to reheat it. With hot liquids there is always the risk of burning yourself too.

The great thing about a hand blender or stick blender is that you can leave the hot soup in the pan and puree it in there. So no need for extra bowls and no splashing around of hot soup. It stays in the pan until it is served.