Can I Use Baby Food in Recipes for Grownups?

Q: Hi — I think I have one of the weirder “Good Questions” for The Kitchn that you’re ever going to get.

To wit: how can I re-purpose baby food for adult cooking?

Yes, there’s a backstory — I recently was nursing a cat through a final illness, and part of that was trying to find something he’d eat. One of the things that my vet suggested was baby food — just straight-up pureed chicken or ham from Gerber. So a couple times I’d get a jar, put a spoonful of it down for my cat — and he’d nibble a little, but then leave the rest, and so into the fridge the jar would go.

Well, that’s over now (my cat, sadly, passed away a month ago), and I’ve figured out what to do with all the rest of his things. Except…the baby food. I still have those three mostly-full jars in my fridge; one beef, one chicken, and one ham. And I’m a little too frugal to throw them away.

So I’m trying to think how they can be repurposed for something else – sandwich spreads? Mix with water as emergency soup stocks? Any ideas for how to re-use baby food?

Sent by Kim

Editor: Kim, deep condolences on the loss of your cat. So sad!

As far as the baby food goes, this is an intriguing question — but we have to say, it would probably be best to throw them out if they have been open over a month. It doesn’t seem wise to eat them, at this point.

But we are curious about using baby food in recipes. Has anyone tried this? Do you have any recipes that depend on a baby food puree?

Related:

Family Mealtime: How To Make Your Own Baby Food

(Image: Info Barrel)