Baby Food Around the World

Ba by Food Around the W or l By: Marisa Vitulli d

Join us on a culinary journey that delves into what is traditionally considered one of the least appetizing sections of the cuisine world: baby food.

Often times, this subject is a hot topic and point of contention for new moms, who are diligently seeking the best for their teething toddlers. So, what should we be feeding our children as they make the tricky transition from breast-milk to solid food? Well, the jury’s still out, but according to The Daily Meal, mothers in the United States generally start their children on soft cereals after six months of breast feeding. Other cultures, however, have their own ideas and traditions about the best solid food starter. From seaweed to ground shrimp to yak butter tea, take a look at what’s being served up as baby food around the globe!

Originally Published February 2015

Europe

• The Swedes come closest to our tastes with their dietary choices for infants as they usually serve mashed fruit

and veggies. Ad- ditionally, they will sometimes feed them välling, a grainy cereal combined with canola, palm oil, and powdered milk.

• France feeds its youth foods of much heartier stock, such as warm leek soup mixed with fresh spinach and flavorful beets. As the children celebrate their first birthdays, they graduate to soft, crumbling cheeses and couscous.

Africa

• In Kenya, mothers feed their babies a local dish called ngwaci, a puree of sweet potatoes.

• Across the Saharan desert in Nigeria, six month olds are fed traditional and adult cuisine that’s been taken to a blender and pureed. One dish com

monly considered a starter meal is gbegiri, beans combined with yam flour.

Asia

• In India, children are served Khichdi, a dish of rice and veggies generously spiced with cumin, coriander, mint, and cinnamon, prepping their pallets for the fiery cuisine ahead.

• The Vietnamese pride themselves on the warm porridges and broths they feed to their kids; their soups are marinated with pork bones and fish sauce. For even more flavoring, they add ground shrimp, potatoes, butternut squash, and, if that wasn’t enough, cereal.

• High in the mountains of Tibet, babes clothed in wool are fed a paste called tsampa, which is finely ground barley flour mixed in yak butter tea.

• Over the Great Wall in China, dishes of rice with diced fish, shredded carrots, seaweed, or soft eggs are spoonfed to children of four months old. • In Japan, most babies are served a combination of miso soup and Okayu, a rice porridge topped with veggies, dried fish, or mashed pumpkin.

The Americas

• Closer to home in Mexico and Central America, parents serve rice, beans, and soups to their little ones. Additionally, so as to encourage their infants to eat fruit, they’ve even been known to sprinkle chili powder and lime juice onto apples, pears, and oranges. • According to Plum Organics, babies in the Dominican Republic feast on creme de habichuelas, pureed black and kidney beans, until they reach six or seven months old.

• Jamaica’s taste buds run much sweeter as parents use soft fruits like custard apples, mango, banana, papaya, and naseberry with honey to introduce infants to solid foods in addition to their daily regiment of milk.

• Finally, in the harsh cold of Alaska, the Inuits wean their children off of milk with a nine month long combination of seal blubber and seaweed. • So, which meal is the best for your child? There truly is no right answer. Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of preference. So, the next time you are out shopping for baby food, don’t feel confined to cereal and milk. Be creative! Dig up some old family recipes! Explore your roots! The nutritional benefits might be worth the experimentation.

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