Everyone knows that for children it is very important to use sour-milk products, as they are a source of calcium, necessary for the formation of bones, and lactic acid bacteria, without which normal digestion is impossible. And also proteins, fats, salts of phosphorus and calcium, many vitamins. Curd for babies is one of the main products, which in no case can not be abandoned. In addition, it is the cottage cheese that appears in the baby's diet one of the first.
Home cottage cheese for babies can be called an ideal option. Only such a product can be guaranteed to be safe and useful. Each mother should be able to cook it and introduce the crumbs into the diet correctly and on time.
When to give the cottage cheese to the baby?
Begin to give the second need not earlier than when the baby is 5-6 months old, because before this time the introduction of animal protein (in particular, cow's) is not recommended. Many pediatricians are inclined to believe that it is not worthwhile to enter this product earlier than 8 months, as excess calcium will lead to the fact that the fontanel on the baby's head will overgrow too quickly, which is undesirable. If the fontanel overgrows, ahead of the norm, it is better to delay the introduction of calcium-containing dishes.
The introduction of cottage cheese should be gradual. You need to start with 0.5 teaspoons (about 5 grams), carefully watching the reaction of the body crumbs. Within 4-5 days, if there is no allergy and other manifestations of a negative reaction to a new product, you can bring the amount up to 20 grams per day. At the age of 1 year, the baby should receive 50 grams of this wonderful and useful product per day.
The first portions (trial) are best given in the morning so that you can trace the reaction of the crumbs, but in time it is better to switch to a curd or mid-morning snack, as it is proved that calcium is best absorbed at night.
How to cook cottage cheese for babies?
For babies, curd is best cooked at home, if there is no possibility or desire to use the services of dairy cuisine. Let's consider some cooking recipes.
- Put the baby kefir (0.5 liters) in a water bath, after 20 minutes, throw it back on the cheesecloth to give the serum to drain.
- Boil a liter of milk, cool it, and then add 2 tablespoons of leaven (purchased at a dairy or dairy kitchen). After thorough mixing, you must pour the milk into a thermos or put it in a warm place for 12 hours. Then place the resulting mixture in a water bath, while not allowing too much boiling water. After separating the whey, you need to turn off the water, discard the mass on the cheesecloth and wait until the liquid drains.
- Boil a half liter of milk, and then pour in it 10 ml (1 ampoule) of calcium chloride (it can be bought at a pharmacy). Milk must be immediately removed from the fire, so that it curdled. So it turns out the calcined cottage cheese.
When preparing this product at home you need to observe the simplest rules of hygiene, namely:
- cook only in perfectly clean dishes, pre-treated
boiling water; - Use only clean and iron-iron gauze to separate from the liquid mixture.
In the resulting prepared dish, you can add a banana or a grated apple to taste. If you cook it without starter cultures, then the benefits will be minimal. It is important to be able to find a starter in a dairy kitchen or in a pharmacy.
Freshly prepared curd dish should have a uniform consistency, white color, slightly sour taste. It is not worth keeping it - it is better to prepare a new portion before each meal.