Those wanting to make their baby's food but are wondering what supplies they will need will probably have to look no further than their own kitchen.
Baby food can be made with a wide range of kitchen utensils, gadgets and appliances -- from the culinary primitive fork to the father of all cooking appliances, the Kitchenaid food processor. The end result is all the same -- food pulverized beyond recognition, yet a lot yummier and colorful than the jarred foods.
First, you need to prepare some foods for cooking. You will need a good potato peeler for fruits and vegetables, as well as a few good knives.
Next, you need something with which to cook the foods. Steaming is preferred over boiling because it saves the most nutrients. To steam foods, you will need a steamer or a steamer insert for your pots. Boiling requires only a pot. Microwaving foods is also an option, and, in addition to the microwave, you would need a microwave-safe container to cook the food in. When I am making a plethora of baby food, I have my food/rice steamer, a steamer insert on the stove and the microwave going all at the same time.
Once you have settled on your cooking method and your foods are now soft enough to puree, you need to decide how you are going to puree them. The softest foods need only a fork. I've even pureed a raw kiwi with a fork with sufficient results. But you may want to use an appliance for this job. I have used a blender (did a fine job, but was hard to get the last bits of food out from under the blade at the bottom of the container), a mini food processor that attaches to my hand mixer (does an excellent job, and I use this the most) as well as one of those hand-wand-things that makes shakes (also did just fine -- even on carrots, but not built for the job of making baby food as well as the mini food processor. By the way, my hand-wand-thing also attaches to my hand mixer -- it's the Braun Multimix and is a hand mixer, food processor and hand-wand-thing all in one. I love it!). I have had great results with all of my standard kitchen appliances, but have not even tried my Kitchenaid food processor because I have a kitchen the size of a closet and the thought of hauling it out of the cupboard everytime I want to make baby food is exhausting enough. Experiment with what you have to see which appliance you have that does the best job with the least clean up.
Baby food can be made with a wide range of kitchen utensils, gadgets and appliances -- from the culinary primitive fork to the father of all cooking appliances, the Kitchenaid food processor. The end result is all the same -- food pulverized beyond recognition, yet a lot yummier and colorful than the jarred foods.
First, you need to prepare some foods for cooking. You will need a good potato peeler for fruits and vegetables, as well as a few good knives.
Next, you need something with which to cook the foods. Steaming is preferred over boiling because it saves the most nutrients. To steam foods, you will need a steamer or a steamer insert for your pots. Boiling requires only a pot. Microwaving foods is also an option, and, in addition to the microwave, you would need a microwave-safe container to cook the food in. When I am making a plethora of baby food, I have my food/rice steamer, a steamer insert on the stove and the microwave going all at the same time.
Once you have settled on your cooking method and your foods are now soft enough to puree, you need to decide how you are going to puree them. The softest foods need only a fork. I've even pureed a raw kiwi with a fork with sufficient results. But you may want to use an appliance for this job. I have used a blender (did a fine job, but was hard to get the last bits of food out from under the blade at the bottom of the container), a mini food processor that attaches to my hand mixer (does an excellent job, and I use this the most) as well as one of those hand-wand-things that makes shakes (also did just fine -- even on carrots, but not built for the job of making baby food as well as the mini food processor. By the way, my hand-wand-thing also attaches to my hand mixer -- it's the Braun Multimix and is a hand mixer, food processor and hand-wand-thing all in one. I love it!). I have had great results with all of my standard kitchen appliances, but have not even tried my Kitchenaid food processor because I have a kitchen the size of a closet and the thought of hauling it out of the cupboard everytime I want to make baby food is exhausting enough. Experiment with what you have to see which appliance you have that does the best job with the least clean up.
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