Beaba Babycook First Impressions

We have a 6-month old daughter, and we've just started her on solids. The wife and I decided to make her food whenever possible. For her baby shower my wife received a Beaba Babycook baby food maker. The Beaba is a steamer and blender in one. Place food into basket, add water, wait 10-20 minutes, dump the contents into the blender with some water, blend, and voila, fresh baby food.

Being of plastic construction, the first concern of many parents is whether it contains BPA. After some confusion and ambiguity on the part of the manufacturer, it seems models produced after 2005 are BPA (Bisphenol A) free--although this is not part of their marketing anywhere. It's worthwhile, however, to read the entire story behind the controversy.

We used organic baby carrots as our first food in the Beaba. Our first mistake was using only a handful of carrots. This small amount really doesn't yield much baby food. But our mistake led to an interesting discovery. We washed the machine thoroughly before use, but while blending the first batch of carrots, we noticed some black residue leaching into our food from the exposed rubber gasket the sits between the blade and base. We tossed the carrots. Dismantled the blade from the base. Removed the gasket. Rewashed all pieces. Reassembled.

For our second batch, we used a whole bag of organic baby carrots. Steam time took about 20 minutes. I would recommend using the Beaba under your cooktop or range hood as a noticeable amount of steam does escape. And be careful, parts of the machine do get hot. During the blending phase no leaching of black residue into the carrots occurred.

As far as taste, homemade baby food obviously is much better than the jarred stuff. Just make sure you buy and use food that's as fresh as possible. For instance, carrots can turn a little bitter. Make sure they are on the sweet side.

At $150.00, I don't consider this an essential item for baby food making--especially if you know how to steam vegetables and use a blender or mixer. And the taste is no better than food steamed and blended using more traditional devices. Being an all-in-one device, it offers some convenience. Cleanup is also relatively quick and easy. If you're lucky enough to get one as a gift, it's definitely worth keeping and using.