Contents
Small homemade purees, small jars, small mixed vegetables… The quantities for our infant are so small that it is inevitable when cutting and peeling the ingredients to leave 3/4 of them aside for later. We take stock of the best method to store our baby’s food.
How to store baby food?
You can freeze most foods except egg yolks, sauces, mayonnaise, as well as all milk-based products. As for tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini, be aware that they tend to lose their taste qualities after a stay in your freezer.
Hint: Do not mix all the components when freezing them but prefer small portions of each vegetable or each type of meat and fish in separate containers. This will make it easier to vary baby’s menus!
Can we freeze small jars of mass distribution?
It is completely forbidden to freeze ready-made meals as well as the remains of the baby’s plate. If you think your baby is not going to eat everything, you might as well put it aside before and then serve it again afterwards rather than throwing away half the contents of its plate.
How to properly freeze baby food?
Temperature
The freezer storage temperature is at -18 ° C. A freezer is capable of going down to even lower temperatures during freezing; otherwise, it is a simple preservative (“real” freezers have a symbol consisting of 4 stars).
If you have the slightest doubt about the efficiency of your refrigerator or the maximum freezing time of certain foods, prepare only for one meal. If your freezer breaks down, throw out all baby formula.
Packaging: small portions
Make small and thin portions, so that baby food is frozen very quickly. If you have a drawer freezer, consider using the top two drawers. In principle, they have a cold plate to speed up freezing.
Systematically register the date of preparation / freezing on the packaging and never give baby (or you!) food that has exceeded its shelf life in the freezer: 1 to 2 months for your preparations, 8 to 12 months for fresh fruits and vegetables.
To find out if our ingredients are still good, we can follow the rule of 3 (which corresponds to maximum times):
- 3 hours at room temperature
- 3 days in the refrigerator
- 3 months in the freezer
Thawing
Avoid leaving food at room temperature : they must pass from the freezer to the refrigerator. It is essential to be very careful not to break the cold chain. Once your food has thawed in the refrigerator (on average after 12 to 16 hours), you can put it at room temperature and reheat it either in a double boiler, in a saucepan, or in the microwave.
A freezer is defrost once or twice a year, when the frost reaches 1 cm thick on the walls.
Remember that you must not never refreeze a thawed food. On the other hand, if you have cooked fresh frozen food (beans, zucchini), you can freeze them again. Provided, of course, that they have been cooked!
Can we freeze in a small glass jar (for mash or compote for example)?
Check that any containers or plastic films you are using are suitable for freezing. Thoroughly clean your containers. It is quite possible to freeze your food in glass jars but if your ingredients are mixed, liquid or pureed, do not fill your jars to the brim (freezing increases the volumes, they could explode. )!