How to store the jars of home-made baby food

When they are born, babies only drink milk up to when they are 4-6 months old, when they start to be weaned onto food. Your baby begins to discover home-made baby food or jars bought from the supermarket. Some people buy jars, while others make their own baby food to save money and because it is tastier! Though this raises the question: can you store them? For how long? Can jars that have already been opened be stored and finished later? Where? This article will provide a few answers to your questions.

Save time!

With some planning, you can make your jars of baby food in advance, which means you will not need to prepare them every day and this will make things easier.

For jars of home-made food, you can store them in the fridge for 2-3 days and in the freezer for up to 1 year (except for food with milk, meat or fish, which must be eaten within 6 months). Ideally they should be eaten within 3 months after making them.

The jars can also be sterilised. Then, when you take a jar you should hear it « pop up » when you open it, to make sure it has been stored correctly. You should also label the food jars to know what’s inside them and when they were made.

Preserving authentic flavours…

Flavours are preserved if home-made food is stored in jars. They allow you to preserve the distinctive flavours of the various foods they contain, unlike industrially-made food, which contains substances that may somewhat change the taste of food.

Generally, baby food bought in jars tends to contain more sugar and substances likely to cause allergies (preservatives, colourings, etc.). By making baby food yourself, you will know exactly what’s on the baby’s plate!

As the meals can be stored, your child can benefit from a wide selection of fruit and vegetables even if they’re out of season. For instance, this winter your child can have a cherry compote you prepared the previous summer!

Heath issues…

Storing the jars of baby food in the freezer means you can preserve the food’s nutrients, especially when they have been bought fresh or picked from your garden and cooked shortly after.

Plus, according to a study carried out by the ministry for health, cold prevents bacteria and microbes from appearing and spreading. Indeed, from -18° microbes stop spreading on food.

Don’t forget!

• Never put a defrosted jar of baby food back into the freezer.
• The jars of baby food must never be defrosted at room temperature: you need to defrost them in the fridge, microwave or steam from frozen.
• According to paediatricians, a jar that has been opened must never be left in the fridge for more than 24 hours. If the baby does not eat it, you must throw it away – hence the need to make suitable portions to avoid wasting too much food.