How you prepare corn for your baby really depends on how old your baby is, what their fine motor skills are like, and how you normally prepare it for your family as a whole.
At the outset, you may be wondering what is the most nutritious way to prepare corn for your baby.
Steaming, boiling and grilling are all ways that corn can be prepared for your baby. Steaming corn preserves more nutrients than boiling and grilling corn so steaming is the best way to cook corn on the cob for your baby. Of course, if you are having a BBQ with family and friends, there is no need to make corn separately for your baby – just serve them grilled corn instead.
Having said that, here are some easy ways to prepare corn for your baby that are easy, tasty, and fun.
Steamed Corn on the Cob is Easy to Prepare for your Baby
Best for Age:
6 months +
Benefits:
Steamed corn on the cob is a fun way to introduce corn and can even be offered early on in your baby-led weaning journey.
It is big enough to be easily held and your baby will enjoy gumming and sucking on the corn. This will help to break the kernels, releasing the flavor of the corn.
Also, if your little one is teething, corn on the cob can be really helpful in soothing those red, inflamed gums.
How to Prepare Steamed Corn for your Baby:
Remove all of the husks and small threads on corn and wash thoroughly.
Cut or break the corn into halves or thirds, so that the corn is not quite so big and awkward for your little one to manage.
Steam the corn over boiling water for 4-6 minutes.
Rinse the corn under cold running water to cool it down for your little one to start munching away at.
How to Prepare Baby corn for your Baby
Best for Age:
6 months +
Benefits:
Baby corn is another alternative to corn on the cob. It is corn that is picked before it has time to mature.
Baby corn has a mild taste and a soft crunch to it. It can be gently steamed or even served raw. This makes it a good snack that travels well when you go out and about with your baby.
Fresh baby corn can be harder to find in the United States as it is commonly harvested in Thailand, Taiwan, and Indonesia.
Interestingly, Los Angeles-based nutritionist Shira Lenchewski suggests that as baby corn has not grown to maturity, it is less nutrient-dense than corn on the cob but it also contains less sugar.
How to Prepare:
Make sure that you rinse baby corn before serving it to your baby. Baby corn can either be served raw or slightly steamed for a couple of minutes.
It is also available canned but the canned variety does have more salt and preservatives and will not be as beneficial for your baby.
Sweetcorn Kernels Are Fun for an Older Baby
Best for Age:
12 months +
Benefits:
As your baby gets older, the way that they eat corn can be adapted. Sweetcorn kernels can be served in a bowl and your baby can practice using a spoon.
According to Dawn Winkelmann, Speech and Language Pathologist and Feeding specialist, babies develop the ability to scoop with a spoon between 11-18 months.
Caution: Sweetcorn kernels can be a choking hazard for younger babies so while your little one is still mastering oral motor movements, corn on the cob is a better choice to avoid choking.
How to Prepare:
There are some options on how to prepare the free corn kernels. You can either follow the instructions above for steaming corn on the cob and then cut the kernels off the cob.
Or, you could consider buying frozen sweetcorn. Frozen sweetcorn offers a lot of the nutritional benefits of corn. It is frozen soon after harvesting and all of the nutrition is locked in at that point.
If you do choose frozen corn, make sure that you steam it to cook it, just as with corn on the cob. This will bring out the flavors and make the corn easier to digest.
Sweetcorn fritters are easy and great for baby-led weaning
Best for Age:
6 months +
Benefits:
Sweetcorn fritter or pancakes are a fun and easy way for your little one to enjoy corn. The pancakes are easy for your little one to manage and are packed with good nutrition, including Vitamin C and protein.
They store well in the fridge and are a great snack to take out and about for your little one.
How to Prepare:
Here is a really easy Sweetcorn fritter recipe from BBC Goodfood.
Ingredients
- 1 x small can no-salt sweetcorn, drained
- small handful baby spinach leaf
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed
- 1 spring onion, chopped
- 50g plain flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 50ml milk
- 1 tsp coconut oil, for frying
Method
- STEP 1
Pulse all the ingredients except the oil in a food processor until fairly but not completely smooth. - STEP 2
Heat a little oil in a frying pan until hot and dollop four spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan leaving space around them. Fry for just under 1 min on each side until lightly golden. When you flip the fritter, flatten with a spatula to ensure even cooking the whole way through. Cook in three batches, placing the cooked fritters on a plate covered with kitchen roll. Serve warm.
How to Prepare Corn to Avoid Choking when Baby-led Weaning
Corn on the cob is less likely to cause choking than sweetcorn kernels in babies. When your baby is mastering self-feeding and oral motor skills, corn on the cob is the safest option. As your baby gets older and more proficient at self-feeding, sweet corn kernels can be introduced.
Should you Prepare Organic Corn for your Baby?
Now that you have some fun ideas of who to prepare corn for your baby-led weaner, you might be wondering if you need to buy organic corn. We really don’t want to be filling our baby’s body with all sorts of pesticides!
Sweetcorn is one of the “cleanest” vegetables you can buy, with very few pesticides being used in the farming of corn. So, you don’t need to specifically buy organic corn for your baby. You do need to be aware that some corn is genetically modified and if that is a cause of concern for you, then organic corn is the way to go.
