Pass it by! First Years Compact Food Grinder
Written: Aug 08 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Dishwasher safe, portable
Cons: Hard to operate, results not easy to get
The Bottom Line: I would skip this. For the results you get, a fork would be quicker and easier.
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| iowamommy's Full Review: The First Years Compact Food Grinder |
I have had this food grinder since 1997. In those years, I have used it maybe a grand total of five times, hoping each time would get better. It didn't.
I had never intended to purchase something like this. I had the rare treat of going to a Toys-R-Us store about 70 miles from home. I live in a rural area, so anything other than Wal-Mart or Target is a big deal for me! As I wandered around staring at the aisles crammed with every imaginable baby gadget, I noticed the First Years Compact Food Grinder.
Since this was my third baby, I was no stranger to making my own baby food. I had always used a food processor and had spectacular results, but I hated the cleanup process. Thinking this would simplify things (and just mash enough for one meal at a time), I was excited to buy it.
Description
This item is made entirely of plastic. There is a clear plastic cup that forms the main container. You insert a smaller clear plastic (not as easy as it sounds) into this. This insert has the holes that the food is supposed to be ground through.
There are white plastic pieces with a divider down the middle, and you put the food (cooked or soft food) in here and push down the top piece and twist it, thereby forcing the food through the holes and making it fall down into the main container for collection. Well, in theory, that is what is supposed to happen.
Our experience
Our daughter was about 7 months old during our first test run of this item, so she was experimenting with fruits and vegetables at this point. The first item I tried was peaches.
Putting in a small amount, I pushed down and waited for this spectacular gadget to work. Hmmmm. Some peach juice dribbled down into the cup. The rest of the peach section was just a slick, mashed, stringy mess left up on top of the grinding holes. I pushed and twisted and hoped. Nothing. Noticing that it seemed that I needed more pressure because the smasher piece wasn't making good contact with the food, I added more peaches. A few little pieces fell through the holes, but nothing spectacular. For the small amount that ended up in the collection cup, I had a lot left up above in a smashed mess.
Now I had a tiny bit of ground peaches, a bunch of peaches smashed above, a hungry baby and a ton of plastic pieces to wash later. Fun. This item is dishwasher safe, but with the odd collection of parts and shapes, I like to wash thing like this by hand instead.
Thinking I just tried the wrong food, I gave it a few more tries with various items, always with the same result. It would let little pieces through, but a lot would stay up above as it was smashed. It was almost like the compression was too much, and it would make everything squish so flat the holes would be blocked. Adding extra food just to get enough pressure to make it go through got old very quickly, too. One time, I forget what the food was, but the liquid part of it was inching up the sides of the main container, between the two pieces of plastic, and wanting to come out the top. What a mess.
I shoved the grinder far back in a kitchen cupboard and forgot about it, and continued on making my regular batches of baby food with my trusty old food processor.
Fast forward a few years...
With the arrival of baby number four, I eagerly sorted through my baby equipment, rediscovering long-lost things. Coming across this food grinder, I was hesitant to try again, but knew I had to give it a fair shake. Getting the same results, I knew this just didn't suit my needs. It was time consuming to clean it up (I hate things with lots of pieces to wash) and just wasn't worth the effort for the little success I'd invariably end up with.
Recommendation
Skip it. For what I was trying to do with it, I could get the same result with a fork. I thought going into this that I'd get a smoother pureed type of result. This wasn't so, because the holes are close to 1/4 inch in diameter, so that is as fine of a grind that you can get. For that consistency, a fork is so much easier and quicker.
For the smoother effect I was after, try a food processor or a blender. Sure, they are more work to clean up, but you can make a large batch and freeze in ice cube trays and take out what you need for each meal.
A book I liked on how to make your own baby food was Feed Me, I'm Yours. I also have the Super Baby Food Book that is nice, but it's a bit more radical, in my opinion.
Buying this grinder was an impulse purchase for me, and one I wish I had never made. I don't know why I still have it around. I'm putting it in the Goodwill box ASAP!
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
iowamommy
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Location: Iowa
Reviews written: 144
Trusted by: 97 members
About Me:
Mother of four product testers!
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