These are my basic methods for making purees for baby food.
Steaming
Roasting
Depending on the food your are preparing you can play with how you cook it. Don't be afraid to try new things here! I also encourage spices and playing with flavors. There is a series on the blog - Purees 101 - where I go more in depth on each food, what they pair well with and how to prepare them specifically.
Before you get started, wash and prepare your produce by cutting into equal size pieces. This helps everything cook evenly.
Roasting (great for fruit and veggies):
Wash and dry produce well
Cut into 2-3 inch chunks and distribute evenly on a baking sheet (I cover mine with foil)
For vegetables - drizzle olive oil (about 1 Tablespoon) and salt (to taste, about ½ teaspoon) over the produce along with any spices you might like to use
For fruits - sprinkle with any spices you will be using and gently toss to coat
Roast at 400 degrees for 15-45 minutes (time will depend on the type of produce you use)
You want for fruits to get soft and vegetables to have a bit of char/color on them and get soft in the middle
Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 minutes
Place into a high speed blender and puree. You made need to add a bit of water to get things going, but only add about 1 Tablespoon at a time.
Once pureed to your desired consistency, pour into silicone trays, cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and freeze until solid.
Steaming (better for veggies then fruit):
Cut produce into even sized chunks
Put 1-2 inches of water at the bottom of a medium size pot and put a steamer basket in it
Put the cut up vegetables into the steamer basket and cover with pot lid
Turn burner onto medium heat, you want a low simmer here not a rapid boil
Cook until fork tender about 15 minutes (try not to overcook, since you will start to loose some of the nutrients to the water)
When done, let cool in pot for 10-15 minutes
Place the veggies into a high speed blender and puree. You made need to add a bit of water to get things going, use the leftover water from steaming, adding about 1 Tablespoon at a time as needed.
Once pureed to your desired consistency, pour into silicone trays, cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and freeze until solid.
From frozen (better for fruits and a few veggies)
Let defrost about an hour on the counter
Place into a high speed blender and puree. You made need to add a bit of water to get things going, but only add about 1 Tablespoon at a time. Fruit typically has a lot of water, so you
Once pureed to your desired consistency, pour into silicone trays, cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and freeze until solid.
No Cook (bananas, avocado, ripe stone fruit)
Peel and cut into chunks.
Place into a high speed blender and puree. You made need to add a bit of water to get things going, but only add about 1 Tablespoon at a time.
Once pureed to your desired consistency, pour into silicone trays, cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and freeze until solid.
Legumes
Open one can of beans of your choice
Pour into colander.
Rinse thoroughly
Put rinsed legumes into blender and add ½ teaspoon of salt and any other spices you might like
Puree. You made need to add a bit of water to get things going, but only add about 1 Tablespoon at a time.
Once pureed to your desired consistency, pour into silicone trays, cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and freeze until solid.
Notes
These are just the basic techniques. Please use these as building blocks.
Want to roast a banana, go for it
Want to steam cauliflower, have at it
Rather leave out the salt, you can, but please add in another spice to widen babies palate