The journey of a jar
Every jar of Heinz baby food starts with a great recipe. In the case of our Heinz Mum’s Own range, all of the recipe ideas come from mums who want to share the tasty ideas that have given them happy mealtimes with their little ones.
Rachel's recipe
Take Rachel Jones. A working mum from North Wales, she sent us a recipe she’d made for her baby daughter Lucy. She’d noticed how much Lucy wanted to eat what the rest of the family was having, so she created a version of pasta with ham and cheese that was suitable for everyone but could be adapted for Lucy too. Rachel’s recipe seemed to us to be just what other mums would be looking for, so it was passed on to our specialist baby food development team for consideration. Nutritionist Claire Baseley and head development chef Gian Luca Ragg agreed that it ticked all the right boxes for a 7 months+ recipe. In particular, the tiny pieces of pasta would provide just the right amount of texture for little mouths. At this age, babies still can’t chew – but the more they use their mouth and tongue, the quicker they develop the muscles they need for
speech and chewing.
Now for the ingredients
Gian Luca has specialist suppliers who grow what’s called ‘baby grade’ ingredients, grown using very controlled conditions. All the ingredients can be traced back to the farm. This allows us to examine the farmers’ records to check how the ingredients have been produced. Gian Luca also selects just the right pasta, specially cut to be just the right size for the first time you’ve ever tried
lumpy bits.
Meanwhile, the recipe is being refined by Gian Luca’s team of five development sure it contains the lowest possible levels of things like salt and that it has a source of minerals such as iron. Mum’s Own are the only brand who add a source of iron to all their savoury They believe it is really because by the time your old their iron stores become low and a source of iron is needed to help baby’s natural defences. As you would expect from Heinz, there are no artificial flavourings, preservatives or colourings, in our baby food and no GM ingredients...
From Heinz kitchen to your kitchen
Then the process is transferred to the main kitchen, where it has to be made time after time to provide consistent great tasting food for your baby. The process involves the ingredients being steam cooked and vacuum sealed. This means we can ensure the delicious taste our chefs perfect and all of the goodness in each recipe is kept sealed in. Best of all this means that just like you, we never use anything artificial like preservatives to keep our recipes fresh.
As the first jars come off the line, they’re taken back to Rachel for her seal of approval. By this time her cheesy pasta with ham has passed over a hundred separate checks – but none is more crucial than this. Will she be happy – and even more importantly, what does Lucy think? “Lucy couldn’t tell the difference between Heinz’ version and mine,” Rachel says. “As for me, I was so impressed by the care and perfectionism they devoted to my recipe. After all, I only have to cook it for four people – Heinz have to cook it for tens of thousands!”
Why not send us a recipe of your own?
mumsownrecipe@uk.hjheinz.com
