STORING & REHEATING HOMEMADE BABY FOOD

Reheating homemade baby food is every parent’s secret weapon on the weaning journey!

Before you start freezing everything, though, it’s important to understand how to do it safely.

When it comes to making your own weaning food, parents often find it easier to produce large batches that can be made into multiple meals, instead of making bite-size portions every day. Here, we look at how you can make that excess baby food last, making the weaning journey easier for you.

Can I Freeze Baby Food?

Yes, you can! It is completely safe to freeze your little one’s baby food to serve at a later date.

How long you can store food in the freezer depends on what the food is, but generally, everything can last from around three to six months. Here are some rough guides:

• Fruit and Veg Purees - six months.
• Meats - 2-5 months. Processed meats (like sausages) tend to last less time than unprocessed meats (chicken, beef etc.).
• Fish - 3-6 months. Oily fish (such as salmon or tuna) tend to last less time than white fish (cod, haddock).

As with all food, it’s often recommended to eat frozen food earlier rather than later, to avoid surprises.

How to Freeze Baby Food

There are a few rules you should follow when freezing baby food to make sure it’s safe for your little one:

• Cool food before freezing - Allow food to cool in the fridge before placing it in the freezer.
• Keep containers clean - Many parents use ice cube trays to store baby food in meal-sized chunks. Make sure these ice cube trays are thoroughly cleaned every time and cover them (you can use a freezer bag) to avoid making contact with other foods.
• Ensure it’s cooked - Some frozen fruits and vegetables are not cooked before freezing and will need to be cooked through before serving.

Also, note that you shouldn’t refreeze frozen raw meats that have defrosted without cooking them beforehand.

Safely Defrosting Baby Food

You must thoroughly defrost frozen baby food before reheating or serving.

It is recommended that you allow frozen baby food to defrost overnight in the fridge, but if you’re in a rush, you can use the defrost feature on a microwave.

How to Reheat Baby Food

How you reheat frozen baby food is up to you and may depend on what it is you’re serving.

When reheating frozen baby food, ensure it has been cooked through - this is important to kill any bacteria. Once you’ve recooked frozen baby food, you can then allow it to cool in the fridge before serving it to your little one.

How Long Is Baby Food Good for After Heating?

Once cooked, frozen baby food must be served the same day and cannot be frozen again, and it also shouldn’t be reheated for a second time.

For this reason, it’s recommended to store baby food in small portions using an ice cube tray, so you only need to defrost as much as your baby can eat in one meal.

Other Options for Storing Homemade Baby Food

Freezing is a great option, but if you can’t do that, then there are other ways you can make baby’s meals last a little longer.

Storing Baby Food in the Fridge

You can keep meat, fish and rice for another day in the fridge, and vegetable purees can last two days. When storing in the fridge, use a separate container than the one you feed your baby with, as their saliva can spread bacteria.

Storing Baby Food in Jars

Glass jars shouldn’t be used for freezing, as they can split and crack. You can purchase specific glass jars for the freezer, but if you want to use regular jars, these will have to be refrigerated.

Freezing baby food is a great way to save time, and we hope this blog gives you the information you need to freeze food with confidence!

If you’re looking for exciting recipes to treat your budding foodie, why not discover our recipes section?