A soup maker is a blender with a built-in heating function. This way, you can easily make fresh soups or hot sauces in addition to smoothies. The soup maker first cooks the ingredients and then mixes them until they're smooth. You can also use soup makers for other hot preparations, like a broth or minestrone. A soup maker often has pre-programmed cooking programs. That's useful, because you don't have to think about the right preparation time and temperature.