[QUESTION] When making soups, exactly how important is it to cover the pot?

Hey all,

Sorry to flood the community, just been working a lot about getting acquainted with the kitchen as of late, and learning more about navigating and utilizing it.

In three cookbooks, I've come across four recipes for soups I'm wishing to try. One for Borscht, one for Minestrone, one for a lentil soup, and one for Cauliflower soup. While I have the needed ingredients for these recipes, all of them call to cover the pot as the ingredients and/or soup are cooking.

My problem is that my pots don't have lids. When I first got the one pot, it came with one, but I can't recall what happened to it, all I know is that I no longer have it. I've brought the one pot to the thrift shop seeing if any of the loose lids there fit, but they were either way too large, just too small, or were perfectly sized, but refused to sit stable.

I was wondering how important it is to cover the pot as the soup and/or ingredients for the soup cook. Are there any consequences for not covering the pot, or does it simply take a longer time for cooking to finish?

Thanks as always in advance.