Blueberry

Blueberries can be served around 6 months, once baby is ready. Their round shape carries a choking risk, so they must be prepared to suit the age at every stage.

Origin

Blueberries now grow in many parts of the world. Canada and the US produce most of them. Their ancestors are thought to be tundra plants that spread north once the glaciers withdrew. The same plant family holds other blue berries, such as the bilberry of Asia and Europe, and these are often called blueberries too.

Nutrition

Blueberries are a good fiber source. They give small amounts of vitamin E, vitamin K and vitamin C. Vitamin C helps absorb plant iron, so they pair well with iron-rich plant foods such as lentils, beans, nut butters and seeds. Their antioxidant content is among the highest of any fruit, and they contain anthocyanins.

You can cook ripe fresh or frozen berries into warm porridge until they burst, or cook them soft and mash them. Fold the mash into porridge, ricotta or yogurt. Flattening raw berries lowers the risk, but at 6 months a baby may struggle to pick up small pieces. Putting food into a baby's mouth raises choking risk, so let baby pick it up. Berries cooked in muffins and pancakes soften and can stay whole.

Once an older child takes bites without stuffing the mouth, fresh whole berries become manageable. For most children that comes after the first birthday. Even so, major health organizations consider whole blueberries a frequent cause of choking up to age four. You can approach whole berries by pressing them a bit less on each occasion.

Wild blueberries are nutritionally similar to large cultivated ones, though they may hold more antioxidants. They are about the size of a toddler's thumbnail, so the risk is a little higher and they are harder to prepare. You can still serve them flattened.

Blueberries are tiny, round, and usually firm. These traits raise the choking risk. Mash, flatten or halve them as the age cards describe.

Blueberry is not a common allergen, but allergy cases have been reported. Anyone sensitive to blueberry could react to its near relatives, cranberry and lingonberry, as well. One allergen in blueberry is a lipid transfer protein (LTP). This protein may cross-react with the LTPs in stone fruits (peach, apricot, cherry). Cross-reactions have been reported with other plants too. Examples are raspberry and grape. Also chestnut and hazelnut. Among grains, maize and barley. Among vegetables, asparagus, carrot and lettuce.