Parmesan cheese

Parmesan is a long-aged hard cheese with a strong, salty flavour, so a little goes a long way. Finely grate it over soft purees, mashed vegetables, or soft pasta to add flavour, or stir a small amount into a dish as it cooks so it melts in. Choose a pasteurized cheese. Because it is salty, keep the amount small.

Finely grated and stirred or melted into food. Avoid hard chunks, cubes, or shards.

Keep grating Parmesan finely over warm foods so it softens, or melting a small amount into sauces, risotto, and mashes. As your baby starts picking up finger foods, you can sprinkle a little finely grated cheese over soft pieces. Hard pieces or shavings of Parmesan are firm enough to be a choking risk, so keep it grated or melted rather than served in chunks.

Finely grated over soft pieces, or melted into dishes. No hard chunks or shavings.

Parmesan can be part of family meals: grated over pasta and vegetables, stirred into risotto, or melted into sauces. Coarsely grated cheese is fine now, but firm cubes or large shards of hard cheese are still a choking risk, so keep pieces small and soft or grated. It stays a salty cheese, so use it for flavour rather than in large amounts.

Coarsely grated or melted into dishes. Avoid firm cubes and large shards.