Homemade baby food: Cook fruit for baby?
I have heard that I need to cook all fruits, except bananas, prior to blending and serving, during my baby's first year. Is this really necessary?
Question:Sue Gilbert
Sue Gilbert works as a consulting nutritionist. For many years she worked with Earth's Best Organic Baby Food, integrating nutrition and... Read more
As long as the fruit you serve your baby is ripe and easy to chew, there is no need to cook it. A ripe peach that has been put through the baby mill is far superior to a cooked one in terms of flavor and nutrition.
Fruits like very ripe melon, soft ripe papaya, avocados, peaches, kiwis, nectarines and bananas are all great baby foods without cooking. Some fruits, like apples and pears, will not be okay until teeth are well established.
Just be sure to serve them at peak ripeness when they are soft, and you have adjusted their texture as necessary -- mashing or cutting as needed into small bite-size bits.
You son is lucky to be getting fresh homemade baby food. What a perfect way to help him develop a taste for whole, unprocessed, fresh flavors. It will serve him well during his life.
