A sauté function lets a soup maker heat selected ingredients before the main soup cycle. It can remove a separate frying-pan step, but it adds a stage that needs your attention. The useful question is whether that stage suits the soups you make often enough to justify the appliance.
Image: AI-generated editorial illustration of generic equipment; not a photograph of a reviewed product.
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Separate the preparation stage from the soup cycle
Think of sauté as an initial cooking task with its own permitted ingredients, quantity and controls. It is not simply a stronger version of Smooth. You prepare the base of the soup, finish that stage, then add the remaining recipe ingredients and select the appropriate soup programme.
The practical benefit is keeping more of the work in one vessel. The trade-off is access: a deep jug offers a different view and stirring space from a shallow frying pan. Before buying, look at how you would add chopped onion, stir safely and see whether food is catching. A feature can be available without being convenient for your preferred recipe.
Lid instructions can be opposite on related models
Morphy Richards illustrates why an exact model number matters. Its 501014 support guidance explains that fitting the lid disables sauté. Its 501020 Total Control guidance says the lid must be correctly fitted for sauté to operate. Neither instruction should be applied to the other model.
Do not work around an interlock because a video shows someone cooking with a different lid position. Read the full setup procedure for your own appliance. If its safety mechanism is stuck or the controls behave unexpectedly, stop and contact the manufacturer rather than holding a switch in place or trying to defeat it.
| Regular cooking habit | Likely value of sauté | Question before buying |
|---|---|---|
| You usually soften onion first | May combine two vessels into one | Can you access and stir the permitted batch comfortably? |
| You mainly use simple all-in soups | May add little to your routine | Would a simpler programme already do the job? |
| You brown substantial quantities in a wide pan | A jug may feel restrictive | What quantity and ingredients does the manual allow? |
| You want to load and walk away immediately | Sauté adds an attended stage | Are you willing to complete preparation first? |
If the Total Control is on your shortlist, our comparison with the Tefal Easy Soup puts the buying decision alongside programme choice, batch size and cleaning. Keep any operating instructions tied to the exact model rather than transferring them between soup makers.
Do not assume it replaces every frying task
The word sauté does not establish permission to cook any raw meat, reduce a sugary sauce or use the jug as a deep fryer. Use recipes approved for that model. A narrow heated base may suit a small aromatic mixture while being unsuitable for the quantity you normally cook in a full-sized pan.
For comparison, write down the amount of onion or other starter ingredients in your usual soup. Check whether the manufacturer’s example recipes use a similar amount. This is a better fit test than motor wattage, because the motor rating does not tell you how much food can usefully sit against the cooking surface.
Count the whole workflow
Lay out the chopping board, ingredients, utensils and stock before starting. Read when oil goes in, when heating starts, how stirring works and how sauté ends. Those are model instructions, not steps to improvise from another appliance. Never add water to hot oil casually or fill a hot jug without following its recipe.
After sautéing, the final soup mixture still has to meet the appropriate minimum and maximum levels. The initial small quantity and the full soup batch are different operating stages. A recipe that fits the sauté surface is not automatically a recipe that fits the complete soup programme.
Include cleaning in the decision
Ask how the heating surface is cleaned and whether it has a coating. Check which utensils are permitted and whether the blade assembly restricts access. If you dislike washing a separate pan but find a deep electrical jug awkward to clean, the apparent saving may not improve your routine.
Use the soup-maker guide to find models to investigate, then compare the preparation and washing steps side by side. Sauté is most worthwhile when it matches a specific habit: a small, frequent preliminary cooking stage that you can comfortably complete inside the jug.