In a message dated 97-11-21 00:09:25 EST, you write: << When my son was starting solids (25 years ago), it was quite popular to = grind up whatever the family meal was, so he got used to what we were = eating, rather than the contrived tastes of food in jars. Has this gone = out of fashion? If it has, I want to start mentioning that when people = ask about solids. >> I think that the popular perception that babies are *supposed* to be eating from pre-packaged jars (after all, doesn't the label say "Baby Food"?) leaves many moms not even thinking that there are other ways of making food suitable for a baby. When I've mentioned using a food grinder to make table foods suitable for babies, moms have frequently responded with "WOW -- you can do that??" -- as if a fresh vegetable would actually be detrimental to a child! It's amazing how pervasive marketing is. As if anything that doesn't come out of a jar is somehow not as good.......<shaking head> I'd bet it's connected to the formula-feeding mentality. After all, the baby's food has *always* come out of packages --why switch now? Diane LLLLeader in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.....where breastfeeding is *finally* catching on, but oh-so-slowly.......