At least when it comes to healthy, nutrient-rich, homemade baby snacks and baby menu offerings. However, you don't necessarily need the most powerful high-tech kitchen machine for this: you can prepare delicious bites for the little one using quite simple, traditional, and inexpensive methods.

 

Original Steaming

Contrary to popular belief, cooking in steam - what is nowadays commonly thought of as steaming - and steaming are not the same process. Originally, during steaming, the used ingredient is first cooked until softened, then baked or fried in fat, and then poured with liquid. Surprising, isn't it?

 

Steaming Nowadays

Today's common language refers to any kitchen process as steaming, during which the selected ingredient is prepared in water vapor until slightly or completely soft. There are several methods for this:

- pot steaming, where a small amount of water is placed at the bottom of the pot reserved for the little one, and the vegetables and ingredients are steamed in it;

- using a glass or metal steamer, which facilitates efficient and quick steaming with its removable steaming insert;

- steaming with a steaming insert, which has the advantage that with the insert available in various sizes, we can use our existing pots to prepare the little one's delicacies;

- steaming in an oven bag, which we do not recommend for regular use in the spirit of environmental awareness, and

- steaming with a steamer, which has the advantage that delicious bites are prepared easily, quickly, and precisely according to our expectations. However, it is true that acquiring a device can involve significant expenses.

 

 

Tips for Steaming

Steaming is a very easy and simple way to prepare baby-friendly foods. Just follow a few very simple steps and the result is always perfect. The first of these is that if we want to steam ingredients of different hardness, we should always keep in mind the characteristics of each vegetable, fruit, and meat! 

For example, we can cut the ingredients to the same size, then start steaming with the hardest vegetable and gradually add the other ingredients to the mixture. Another possible method is simultaneous steaming, in which case it is advisable to slice the vegetables that soften quickly into larger pieces, while those that soften slowly into smaller pieces. The time factor is also important: if we steam the vegetables for too long, the whole process is pointless, as the valuable nutrients and vitamins are lost from the delicacies. 

Even so, steaming is a mother-, baby-, and BLW-friendly method, which is especially worth following if we want to end up with bite-sized, soft vegetable pieces that are not easily squashed by hand.