Kidco Electric Food Mill Review

The Kidco Electric Food Mill is a useful blender for making baby foods, but we found its size, lack of an “on/off” switch (this machine is started by pressing down on the top, and boosts the motor speed when the green button on the lid is pressed), and numerous parts cumbersome. The Kidco is a hybrid between a blender and a food processor, which one would think would puree well, but sadly, it fell short when compared to its counterparts, the Sage Spoonfuls Puree and Blend and the BELLA Baby Rocket Blender.

Performance Comparison

Puree Quality

We awarded the puree quality a 7/10. This was because the puree produced was rarely consistently smooth throughout. We tested several different kinds of foods, including cooked rice, which did nothing to further puree; roasted carrots, which turned out fairly well with minimal chunks; and steamed brussels sprouts, which blended nicely but still larger leafs resisted the blades. We did notice that the Kidco did not have issues with pureeing soft foods, such as avocado.

Ease of Use

This unit is definitely an easy product to use, which is why we gave it a score of 8/10. Setup time is minimal out of the box. After an initial cleaning, users simply insert the blade or blending attachment, add food of choice, close the plastic lid and top with the motor. To activate, simply press the top portion of the machine onto the bottom and the blades begin to run. Should you need a boost of speed for a faster, more-fine chop, you can press the large green button on the top of the motor. We noticed the top had a tendency to get stuck between uses, which was an annoyance.

Ease of Cleaning

Cleaning the Kidco is a little more intensive than its counter parts. The motor housing can only be wiped down, it cannot be submerged in water which makes maintaining sanitation difficult. The bowl, non-skid base, blade and blending attachment are top-rack dishwasher safe.

Capacity

The Kidco has a capacity of 2 cups. This falls about in the middle of the pack as far as the products we tested go. We found you cannot actually fill it with 2 cups of food (it is more of a guideline). The actual capacity is more like 1 ½ - 1 ¾ cups, depending on what you plan to cook and its consistency.

Durability

The Kidco comes across as a fairly durable machine. The blade maintained its sharpness through our testing and the plastic held up well to blending hot foods. We awarded the Kidco 7/10 for durability because it had a few parts that felt flimsy to us, particularly the blending attachment. This did not seem to impact the operation of the machine, but it did worry us. We did appreciate the non-skid cover for the bottom of the machine, which definitely prevented the base from jumping all over the counter while the machine was in use.

Portability

The Kidco is a small machine. It could easily fit into a diaper bag or luggage if you wanted to take it on a trip. But, because the motor and base do not lock together making standing it upright, or carrying it in one piece for that matter nearly impossible.

Best Applications

The best application for using the Kidco is if you truly desire a small, motor powered machine to mill your baby food. It is effective in producing smaller quantities of food for baby. If you have to keep the noise level down in your house this might not be the machine for you. While the Kidco is quieter than the BELLA Baby Rocket Blender, it's not nearly as quiet as the Cuisinart BFM-1000 & Bottle Warmer or the Baby Brezza Elite. It actually startled us when we ran it initially, which probably would not have sat well with our kiddo had he been present during testing.

Value

At the price of $25.00, this machine represents a good financial value for the options it offers. It is a decent food mill that will enable you to make food for your baby but remember, you get what you pay for. We would not put harder foods in this machine, we worried the plastic would snap off mid-blend and ruin the food we had prepared.

Conclusion

While the Kidco presents a decent option for parents on a budget, we would recommend spending a little more money and investing in a different baby food maker such as the Sage Spoonfuls Immersion Blender With Food Processor Attachment that offer the same benefits and more.