The Phillips Avent 4-in1 baby food maker has its positive points. You can achieve all four functions – steam, blend, defrost and reheat – in the same jar, which reduces the need for space, storage, and washing up.
It’s also a sturdy machine that doesn’t feel easily breakable, and there were no major issues with either steaming or blending, which is why we’ve included it in our roundup of the best baby food makers (opens in new tab).
Unfortunately, the defrosting device is pretty much unusable due to its small size and rigidity, and the device itself looks very old-fashioned. While probably not the best choice for house proud parents, or those looking for something that can defrost frozen foods, it could suit someone looking for a no-frills machine that can blend, steam and sterilise.
(Image credit: Philips Avent)
Design
Weighs: 2.47kg | Suitable from: 6 months +
The Philips Avent’s design is quite dated. Its current competitors, with touches like chrome bases and gold finishings, make the Avent’s white plastic and green-tinged grey jug look old-fashioned at best, and a little ugly at worst.
There is also no digital display- in its place you’ll find a circular button that can be turned to indicate settings and programme. As such, it wouldn’t suit a kitchen-proud parent looking for something attractive to sit out on the side for a few years.
However, if design and colour is unimportant to you, there are other pros that go some way to making up for it. For example, it might be a good choice for those prioritising space-saving, as it is tall rather than wide.
Comfort and features
The four functions of the Phillips 4-in1 – steam, blend, defrost and reheat- can handily all be done in the same jar, which holds a capacity of 1L. This is amongst the biggest capacities of the baby food makers reviewed, making the device good for batch-cooking and larger families.
Effective steaming happens in 20 minutes, making the butternut squash wedges I’d oven-cooked the day before for my own dinner suitably fluffy and soft for my baby.
Once steaming is done, you lift and flip the jar then lock it in place to blend. Steaming sounded like a kettle, with a similar volume level, and blending wasn’t too noisy, but I was very disappointed to try the defrost function. This has to be done using a white plastic disc, which is filled with whatever you need to defrost and placed into the jar. However, the disc is both small and rigid, meaning anything frozen would likely be unmalleable enough to get into it.
Value for money
The Philips 4-in-1 could suit someone looking for a basic machine that can do multiple things with just one jug. After all, we all like to save on washing up when we can!
However, the defrost function is flawed, and there are a wide variety of far more attractive machines on the market now. It is also missing some features that you might expect for the price- a digital display, the ability to leave the machine to blend, and even measurements on the jug.
On the plus side, it does come with a Healthy Weaning guide (though only the first few pages of a pretty weight book are in English), and a white plastic spatula with a hook for mixing.
