Customer Reviews

Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker

5 star:		(114)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(42)

 

 

I love this gadget. Compact, all-in-one, easy to use, FOOL PROOF, and ... gives me the CONFIDENCE to make my baby's food.

I've read tons of web reviews and blogs about this product, and detractors seem to miss/misunderstand my 'category' of mom. I cook when I can. I bake when I get the chance but... mostly, I dont have the time or confidence to pull it off anything 'new'... AND clean up multiple utensils!

So many blogs out there chastise the Beaba buyers for wasting money--telling us to buy cheap steamer inserts and dust off our blenders, food processors and food mills... For my first baby, I listened to these moms (and the Beaba wasnt in the USA yet). I bought the food mill; I pulled out the steamer insert... and.. I froze. My baby ate NOTHING BUT JARRED (organic) FOOD! till she could chew the foods in my comfort zone. Baby food, all the prep and the coordination of all these tools was all so daunting. I was terrified I'd get it wrong... or couldnt keep sterile enough... or would get lost in all the piles of things I'd have to clean after each prep!!

THEN THE BEABA! Little to clean, nothing to get wrong, no digging through drawers and juggling appliances in my limited space! I LOVE IT! Call me a slacker mom! But dont call me frivolous with money!! Organic Baby food is $1.10 a jar and my baby would go through 4-6 a day. I've had my Beaba for 6 weeks, and it's already paid for itself.

BTW, you can adjust the consistency to your baby's taste as he grows. I figure soon I'll just be using it to steam, not blend. And... I doubt it will be a permanent fixture in my kitchen! But ... its paid for itself! Carrots smell like carrots!!! and ... its given me a confidence that I hope extends to other culinary projects! Slacker moms, buy it.

PS Careful if you're reading those blogs re: Beaba and BPA. Read ALL the blogs. The most uptodate will lead you to the latest info promising this product IS BPA free. There are blogs that appear current but have not updated this info.

I live in a small apartment and don't have room for lots of gadgets (not even a microwave). I find this appliance to be worth the counter space. I like that you can steam and puree in one appliance, and that I don't have to lug out the steamer and blender to whip up some food.

Some reviewers say your baby will outgrow this machine's usefulness in a few months but I disagree. My baby eats mostly finger foods but still I use the Beaba a lot. I use it to reheat leftovers (again, we have no microwave) and also use it to chop or puree adult dinners that are two hard for baby to eat.

It's not a huge capacity but that doesn't bother me. After spending whole weekends steaming, blending and freezing veggies, just to discover that my kid's taste buds changed and what he once loved he now refuses, I'm over large scale baby food production.

One safety note! There is a little hole that the lid clicks into. That hole leads to the water chamber and I once accidentally tipped the machine over and scalding hot water came out of the hole and landed on my hand. I got a nasty burn. Definitely keep this machine well away from the edge of counters!

This is the first product review I have been compelled to put on Amazon. Bought this because most prepared baby food is disgusting and I wanted an easy way to serve fresh food to our son. This product was highly reviewed and I like gadgets so it seemed like a good fit. It worked well in the sense that it was convenient and cooked baby food, but after about 3 weeks, I noticed that the water used for steaming was brown and sweet smelling. I looked in the reservoir and noticed brown grime on all of the metal and a sickly sweet smell. I assumed (unfairly) that my mother-in-law had mistakenly put food into the reservoir hole and then was embarrassed to say anything, so I cleaned the unit with vinegar as per the instructions and tried again. We've only had the unit since Feb 2010, use it only 2-3 times a week and now had the same problem 3-4 different times. The water used to cook the food is brown and disgusting and I have cleaned (physically scraped) brown grim the reservoir multiple times. I have contacted Beaba and they have suggested that it's a descaling issue and to descale the unit once a month. I completely disagree as we have had the same coffee maker for three years and never descaled it once. I don't know if food is being spun into the reservoir or what, but at this point, we have a $150 baby food maker that we are afraid to use. What's the point of fresh baby food if it's covered in some kind of unknown detritus? Beaba has so far been unresponsive about a replacement/ repair. Will update with any new developments.

Update 2/25/11- this is an update to the review above. I'm not sure, but now think the problem of the brown water had to do with not properly using the plastic cover when blending the food (aka user error) allowing particles of food to enter the water chamber and be subsequently reintroduced into the baby's food. I say this because while no one in my family would admit to not using the plastic screen when blending, as soon as I reiterated that everyone should be using it, the problem stopped and we have used the Baby food maker without incident since. So not sure what caused the problem, but it seems to have gone away recently and we are now happy with the product again. I revised my rating to 4 stars.

I got the Beaba Babycook as a gift, and adored it for several weeks. I work and have very little spare time to spend in the kitchen, so I loved being able to steam and puree my baby's food without having to clean multiple pots and pans. Then, after about a month of regular use, I noticed a foul odor coming from the well where the water goes. I looked inside and saw that a brown crust had formed there. I figured it must be lime deposit that had turned brown from being exposed to the hot temperature of the babycook, but when I tried to descale the well, the vinegar did almost nothing to remove the brown deposit, even after several attempts. I was also very worried to see that the water that ended up in the steamer basket was brown, thus suggesting that if I tried steaming more veggies, the deposit would end up in my baby's food.

I contacted the manufacturer, and they recommended using distilled water (although there was no mention of this in the manual). So, I exchanged my now completely dysfunctional Babycook for a new one, and tried again. Within two days the brown film had developed, even though I was using distilled water. I don't know much about appliance design, but I figure there must be something really wrong with this gadget if it takes only a few days for such a deposit to form. And the odor is truly foul - no way I want my baby's food within a foot of whatever it is that collects there.

I don't see any mention of this problem in other reviews, but at the same time, I can't imagine that I am the only person this has happened to, given that it happened TWICE to me. Too bad - I really loved the idea behind this product!

After reading some of the reviews, I almost got scared off this, and am glad I didn't.

I did batch cooking for my first two kids, who are now 3 and 4. When it came time to move my 6 month old into solids, I wanted to home make his food also. But since I have less time and freezer space, batch cooking just wasn't feasible. I wanted to make his foods from the ingredients I was using for the family meals. Trying to puree small amounts in a regular size blender or processor is impossible. I saw this and though it would make meal time easier - and it does!

Now the baby eats what we are eating, just steamed and pureed. I can make 3-4 servings at a time and just put the extras in singe serve containers in the fridge. I cooked a whole chicken, pulled off the meat and out it into small snack sized bags and put them in the freezer. Now while I am cooking for the older kids, I put one serving of chicken, with some veggies and/or fruit in the cooker and it cooks away while I am making dinner for the rest if the family. E.A.S.Y.

-The mold issue other reviewers shouldn't be a problem, if you make sure the reservoir is empty and leave the top off so that it can air dry. Same for the blender/steamer parts. Just dry them between uses. I use water from my Brita to reduce build up between descaling. If your reservoir in a regular steamer isn't emptied all the way, it will do the same thing.

-The counter top footprint is small, about ľ of the size of my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. It's small and does small amounts, it doesn't say that it does large batches. So I'm confused as to how people are disappointed that it doesn't do large batches. It states it has a 2 ˝ cup bowl.

-The Beaba website sells the replacement parts all separately which I liked, just in case something needs replacing. I cook a lot and have has to replace blades on my large processor, so I'm glad that the parts are so easy to get.

-The steamer does shut off automatically and the light goes off, but just like a regular steamer, if you leave food over boiling water, it will continue to soften. The booklet gives you the times for the steamer, so timing it is actually pretty easy. (Level 1 on the bowl is 7 minutes, level 2 is 10 minutes, level 3 is 15 minutes).

-The Beaba website has more free recipes. (My kiddos fav is 2/3 pumpkin, 1/3 pear and a dash of pumpkin pie spice)

-The blender part worked great for my 6 month old, totally pureed the pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato, pear, nectarine, banana and butternut squash that I pureed in there. I thinned with water or pear juice.

-You hold the switch to the right to puree the food. For me, it's not a big deal to hold a switch for 30-60 seconds. So I don't see this as a design flaw.

-The top and bottom don't line up perfectly - they can't or else too much pressure would build up in the steamer and it would pressure cook the food, not steam it.

In short, This is my 3rd baby that I've cooked for at home, and I love this. Some of the design flaws others talked about aren't really flaws at all. I have to cook a meal for the kids at 5 and one for my hubby and I at 7 when he gets home. This makes it easy to make the baby's food at the same time with the same ingredients.

This has been around in Europe for ages - many of my friends have it in London and I can see the apeal of this little steamer/grinder combo gadget however the price in the US is unbelievable!! It makes no sense to buy this when a regular "adult" steamer (such as the Black & Decker I reviewed) with a basket 4x the size is $30! I make my own baby food and love having a large basket to cook 4 sweet potatoes at once or a whole bag of baby carrots and freezing the extra portions in ice cube trays. With the Babycook, one would have to steam & puree almost every day -- who has the time? Secondly, with many baby foods, you have to remove the skins after steaming anyway, so it completely defeats the purpose of steaming & pureeing in the same basket. Lastly, when doing some reasearch into this product, I found that it may leech BPA chemicals so please look into this if it is important to you.

All in all, I think the Babycook looks adorable and has a cute little name and packaging but if you are a busy, tired mom, do yourself a big favor and get a regular, adult-sized steamer (like the B&D) that can make a month of purreed baby food at a time to freeze and re-heat when needed. The baby will outgrow this machine in a few months and then you are stuck with a $150 useless appliance. With a regular steamer, you can make dinner for your family simply and easily for years

Please DO NOT buy this product or anything from HEALTHCHECK SYSTEMS! I don't know how they can call themselves by that name. I happened to read another reviewer who found mold in the water reservoir, got an exchange, and had the same thing happen. I used this as intended with the splatter shield, and ran it through multiple de-scalings by using vinegar/water, and the mold did not go away- except some gets into the food basket each time you steam! So, your baby is eating his/her food with mold in it. The company says they don't have this problem- probably because they are ignorant and don't care about me sending it back to test it, and people don't know because it is hard to see into the reservoir. I have only used this for about 4 months and am very clean. The manager hung up on me! They refused to listen to what I had to say, and stand by their 30-day return policy! Mold does not grow in 30 days! They must know their product is garbage with that kind of return policy. I can't believe they are allowed to sell products under that name that can cause babies and children to get sick! It's no wonder my baby had a temporary "unknown" allergy! They do not have any concern! They should not be able to sell on Amazon!

Through recommendations from friends and an informal cost-benefit analysis (j/k) I bought this item. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because of the price. Nice concept in a convenient package that is aesthetically pleasing and holds the Williams-Sonoma name...but I still think the price is jacked-up.

I am a first time mom, and I was excited to start whipping up some organic fruits and veggies for my daughter. I resisted buying the Babycook at first thinking a stove-top steamer and my Magic Bullet would suffice. I am embarrassed to say how long it took me, so let's just say after making a batch of carrots, peas, and corn, the excitement was over. It was so tedious! And so many dishes to wash. The next day I bought the Babycook and made twice the amount of food in half the time, with very little cleanup. I'm ok with the amount of food it produces since I don't like to make big batches due to freezer space. The blade is very strong and does a very good job on hard items like the skins of beans and peas. My Bullet would still leave little chunks that were potential choking hazards. I make a week's worth of baby food, and when the machine is not in use I let the water chamber and other parts air dry. I don't think it is very useful for reheating because it takes a long time and sometimes the food comes out too moist (but this might be user error).

So far the product has been a pleasure to use and has made my life a whole lot easier.

I have been using this product for about 2 months and was soooo happy with it! I came on here to see if any other reviewers had written recipes, (I think my baby is getting bored with the ones we have been using). Then I saw a couple reviews about mold build up in the water resevoir. So I go over to look in mine with a flashlight and about had a heart attack! There was mold AND the brownish buildup. I cant belive my daughter hasnt gotten sick from the food I have been making her! Of course we are now past the 30 day warrenty and Im stuck with this nasty nasty machine. Please do not buy this product. I use vinegar to de-scale once a week and its still all moldy in there!!

I cannot urge parents enough to NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT for your child or, for that matter, ANY other child. I normally hate it when people use caps to voice a strong opinion, but for this review, I make an exception. I feel it is my duty as a fellow parent to inform others so they can protect their children from the effects of this product.
What some of the other reviewers have written is true: this machine grows mold. The only reason why other reviewers haven't written the same is because they either cannot see the mold, are mistaking the mold for water deposits (or the type of water they used) or are mistaking the mold for food build up (or food accidentally getting into the water reservoir).
I ran the vinegar cleaning through it so many times, I was sure it boiled out any kind of buildup that could possibly be in there, but I was wrong. I do not believe you can ever fully rid the reservoir of every last trace of mold and no matter what you use to clean it (though I would doubt anyone would use anything more harsh than vinegar or anything edible because of the purpose of the water reservoir), it will come back.
I am worried that parents have trusted that this "cleaning" gets this clean and sterile for continued use.
I also noticed decay of some kind on the side vent, which is impossible to even TRY to clean.
This machine is not safe for food preparation of any kind for anyone, MUCH LESS a baby.

If you are looking at this babycook, you are wanting to give your baby a healthier start in life. You will do that if you do not cook their food with the Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker.

If you are reading this, ask yourself: if even just a FEW of the comsumers of this product found mold growing inside of it, WHY RISK BEING ANOTHER? Keep your baby safe from this machine. DO NOT BUY.