Making Mush: A Tutorial

This post is a bit of a departure from the usual. I've had A LOT of questions about the making of baby food (a.k.a. mush), so I thought it might warrant a post. I'm simply writing to encourage those who are curious to try making baby food, but trepidatious, to give it a whirl. I put off opening up Cafe Doubleshot because I thought it would be overwhelming, but it is very simple! I can make one sort of mush in less than 15 minutes without having to hover in the kitchen.

Step 1: Gather Mushing Materials - No special tools required!

• Food to become mush (fresh, frozen or dried - sorry, canned gives me the willies)
  
• Roasting pan
• Pot
• Steamer insert
• Fork
  
• Mushing apparatus (i.e. food processor, blender, mini chopper)
• Silicone ice-cube trays
• Freezer storage bags
  

Step 2: Prepare It - You know it's done when you can stick a fork in it. Haha.

• If it's got an inedible part (i.e. sweet potatoes, winter squash), then bake it in a roasting pan at 350 degrees.
• If it's entirely edible, steam it in your insert over 1 inch of boiling water.
• If it's dried (i.e. prunes, apricots, grains), boil it.
• If it's already soft (i.e. avocados, bananas), do nothing.
  

Step 3: Mush! Mush! Mush! It

• Insert the edible portions into your mushing apparatus, and press play. (No need for anything fancy. I have a $5 no-name-brand mini chopper that works like a charm, but I will likely upgrade to a mini Cuisinart or something here soon to get a little greater yield.)
• If it's too thick or your apparatus doesn't seem to be getting at all of the food, add water. This is key.
  

Step 4: Serve It

• If it's too thin, add cereal.
• If it's too thick, add water/milk/formula (or, eventually, broth).

Step 5: Store It

• Prepared mush will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days.
• At that time, you can put the remainder into silicone ice-cube trays (mine have a 2 Tbsp capacity per cube). Once frozen, pop them out easily and place them in freezer bags.
• Don't refreeze foods that started out frozen to begin with. (Only make 3 days worth of these.)
• Defrost it in the refrigerator a serving at a time, or in a glass dish submerged in a pot of hot water. (Never defrost in a microwave. Not only do you risk "hot spots", but microwaves destroy essential proteins and nutrients.)

And, face it, sometimes we feel better having a book to reaffirm the process. I recommend Cooking For Baby, by Lisa Barnes, for exactly this purpose.

And, your gratuitous cute baby photos... Elli and Anni loving their carrots.