Fresh sweet corn in the middle of the summer is one of the best gifts from nature. Corn so sweet you can eat it without cooking it, is truly a treat. Today, I want to share with you how to turn sweet corn (fresh or frozen) into a great puree for your little one.
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I love sweet corn and so do my kids. They get a kick out of eating it off the cob and I think that can be attributed to how early I introduced the flavor. Corn was one of the purees that I was excited to share with them, and they loved it.
Corn can be harder to digest than some other produce, so this is one of the purees I suggest making super smooth at the beginning. As your little one gets older and is used to digesting more complex foods, you can leave it a bit chunkier. However, in the beginning smooth is good.
Corn is a nutrient dense food, high in fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium and B vitamins. It’s naturally gluten free, high in carbohydrates, and low in fat. These factors combine to make corn a great option for baby food. Good carbs, good fiber, and lots of nutrients make for a great puree!
I like to pair corn with other produce that doesn’t have quite as much fiber. This would include things like beets, avocados and spinach. I also like to spice up the corn puree with a variety of other flavors.
Some of my favorite pairings are:
- Lime: Similar to what I would add into corn salsa, a few squeezes of fresh lime juice really brightens up this puree.
- Chili powder: Using a teaspoon or so of chili powder adds a nice flavor and invokes the flavors of Mexican street corn. You could add some cojita cheese or sour cream to the puree to really bring the flavors to your little one.
- Basil: One of my favorite summer soups is my sweet corn and basil soup, adding a dollop of pesto or a few leaves of basil to this puree, adds a nice depth of flavor and the same profile of that soup for your baby.
Here are few interesting facts about corn?
- Did you know that most of the corn grown in the U.S. isn’t the sweet corn that we all love? Only about 1% of the corn grown is for us to eat. The rest is called field corn and is dried and used as feed or fuel.
- Did you know that the average ear of corn has on average 800 kernels in 16 rows? That's a lot of kernels to chomp through.
- Did you know that corn is produced on 6 out of the 7 continents. Antarctica is the only one that doesn't grow it.
And a few corny jokes (I just couldn’t help it)!
- Why shouldn’t you tell a secret on a farm? Because the corn has ears!
- What did the corn say when he was complimented? Ah, shucks
- What did the baby corn say to the momma corn? Where’s Popcorn
Looking for some more interesting facts about corn. Check out this fun activity book.
Purees 101 - Sweet Corn Puree
Ingredients
- 16 oz corn kernels fresh off the cob or frozen and thawed
- ¼ cup more or less coconut milk, almond milk or water
Instructions
- Put corn kernels into high speed blender (I use this one)
- Add about half of your liquid to the blender and turn it on to medium speed.
- Puree to desired consistency adding more liquid a smidge at time if needed.
If using fresh corn, do I need to cook it first?
I like to bring it to a boil for just about 2 minutes and then turn off the heat. If you have super fresh corn, you won't need any more cooking than that.