Knowing how to safely freeze baby food so you can prepare and store whole batches of homemade treats for your baby is a real boon for busy parents. There are some important freezing guidelines that you must follow.
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How Long Can You Freeze Baby Food?
You can store baby food in the refrigerator for up to six months. This might surprise you since most official guidelines for freezing fruits and vegetables say they keep for up to 12 months. However, this only applies to foods frozen in their whole natural state. When baby food is stored in the refrigerator for more than three months, ice crystals can build up on the cooked baby food puree. Therefore, to ensure optimal taste and nutrient retention, we recommend using frozen baby food within one to three months.
How To Freeze Baby Food
Method 1
Thoroughly clean a regular ice cube tray and spoon the prepared baby food into each section.
A lidded tray is ideal as it protects the food from being scorched by the freezer and doesn’t give off any other odors from the freezer.
If you don’t have a lidded tray, you can cover the tray with food-safe plastic wrap. Some people use tinfoil, although we don’t recommend it as you can find some left in the food!
Put the ice cube tray in the freezer, and once the ice cubes have hardened, press them out and place them in a zip-top bag to reduce space in the freezer.
This will give you a good-sized portion of baby food — usually around an ounce. At first, one cube per meal will suffice for your child, but as he grows, you may want to keep two cubes in each ziplock bag.
Method 2
This is similar to method 1 in that it involves freezing baby food and then transferring it to a zip-top bag – but you can use silicone mini muffin pans instead of ice cube trays!
Their flexibility makes it easy to remove food portions – of course, when your child gets older, they’re used beyond baby food storage!
Method 3
If you don’t have the right size container to freeze baby food, then you can use the baking paper/cookie sheet method (although you’ll need more freezer space initially).
Simply spoon the prepared baby food onto the baking sheet to form small mounds (though note that this will also not work if your puree is too runny).
Cover an entire baking sheet with food-safe wrap (or loose lid with foil), freeze until firm, then transfer portions of food to zip-top bags as before.
Read More: How To Freeze Dry Meats?
Tips on Freezing Baby Food
After choosing a freezer storage method, use these additional tips for the best results:
- Wash your ice cube trays or put them in the dishwasher before using them to store baby food.
- Label your tray or freezer bag with the food type and date.
- Do not dilute pureed food with previously frozen breast milk and put it back in the freezer. The only time you should thaw and refreeze food is when cooking in between.
- If you notice ice crystals forming on frozen baby food, don’t worry. This is not freezer burn. These ice crystals are not dangerous and do not make the cube unpalatable or malnourished.
Summary
It’s a healthy and cost-effective way for parents to feed their children – when done right. Here’s a guide to freezing baby food and how long you can keep it safely in the fridge, hope it helps.