Making food for your baby

Your baby's journey of food discovery will start with smooth purées made from baby rice, fruit and vegetables such as apples, pears, carrot or parsnip.

Making a fruit purée
Peel, core (where necessary), and chop the fruit. Gently heat in a pan with a tablespoon of water. Once it is soft, purée until smooth using a blender, food processor or through a sieve. You can then add a teaspoon or two of your baby's usual milk to adjust the consistency.

Making a vegetable puree
Peel the vegetables, where necessary and chop. Cook until soft by steaming, microwaving or boiling. Once it is soft, purée until smooth using a blender, food processor or through a sieve. You can then add a teaspoon or two of your baby's usual milk to adjust the consistency.

Introducing lumps
Once you are ready to introduce lumps offer soft lumps in a thick purée to start with. Mash soft fruits, cooked vegetables or pieces of pasta with a fork or potato masher. You can start to vary the texture by adding minced chicken, fish, beans or minced red meats as well as dairy products.

Cooking methods:

• Steaming or microwaving is the best way to preserve the flavour and nutrients in fruit and vegetables, which can easily be destroyed by overcooking.
• If you boil fruit and vegetables, use the minimum amount of water and be careful not to overcook them as the nutrients will be lost. How long you boil them for depends on what you are cooking. Keep checking to see if they are done by piercing them with a knife. You can then add some of the cooking liquid to make the purée.
• Baking is a fuss-free way to cook potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, pears or butternut squash. Bake until soft all the way through, then scoop out the flesh and mash with some of your baby's usual milk.

Useful equipment:

• A baby food grinder, or mouli. This is a hand-turned food mill. It is particularly good for foods like peas, chickpeas or dried apricots, as it enables you to produce a smooth purée and discard the husks or skins.
• An electric hand blender, for puréeing small quantities of food.
• A food processor, for larger batches although some have mini-bowl attachments for smaller quantities.
• Food cube trays. These are ideal if you are freezing batches of food for your baby. It saves time to make food in large quantities, then freeze. You can also use ice cube trays and cover before freezing. Once frozen, turn out the frozen cubes of food into clean, plastic freezer bags.
• Mini freezer pots, for storing larger amounts of food for older babies.