In Depth Baby Product Reviews Led by a Pediatrician

Boon Mush Manual Review

The Boon is an excellent choice for parents who desire a portable food making system for their infant who has already been introduced to pureed food and is ready to encounter more texture
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Boon Mush Manual Review (Here you can see everything that is included in the Boon Mush Manual's box. This four piece set includes the bowl...)
Here you can see everything that is included in the Boon Mush Manual's box. This four piece set includes the bowl, stainless steel blade and shaft, lid with hand crank, and storage lid.
Credit: Micah James
Price:  $31 List
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Manufacturer:   Boon
By Natalie Hale ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  May 15, 2014
69
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Puree Quality - 30% 4.0
  • Ease of Use - 20% 9.0
  • Ease of Cleaning - 20% 7.0
  • Capacity - 15% 8.0
  • Durability - 10% 8.0
  • Portability - 5% 9.0

Our Verdict

The Boon Mush Manual was discontinued in 2016.
REASONS TO BUY
Small
Non-electric
Easy to use
REASONS TO AVOID
Does not produce a fine blend
Hard to clean
The Boon Mush Manual is a decent little hand-crank machine that would be best for infants ready for chunkier food. Parents can easily throw the Boon into a diaper bag and prep food they are having for baby right at the dinner table. That's about where the perks end though.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Performance Comparison


boon mush manual - we wanted our readers to see just how difficult it is to achieve a...
We wanted our readers to see just how difficult it is to achieve a fine puree using the Boon. Here we are approximately 10 cranks into the 30 crank process with one cup of fresh strawberries. We think parents could probably achieve a decent puree in the end, but you might have to pull the hand-crank all day!
Credit: Natalie Hale

Puree Quality


We aren't going to lie- the puree quality of the Boon was the worst of all the machines we tested. In the end, we felt it was fair to give the product a 4/10, because it simply was not capable of producing a puree consistency appropriate for an infant just starting out on solid foods.
boon mush manual - after thirty cranks (the recommendation for a fine puree), you can...
After thirty cranks (the recommendation for a fine puree), you can see how our strawberries turned out. While this type of rough texture would be fine for an older infant, babies making their foray into eating table food shouldn't be fed food with this many chunks.
Credit: Natalie Hale

Ease of Use


The Boon is extremely easy to use. Right out of the box, we hardly had to consult the manual to assemble it. After cleaning, simply assemble the blade in the bowl, drop in the food you want to chop and secure the lid. The Boon includes a manual with instructions as to how many times you should pull the attached ring in order to achieve different consistencies. We found the manual to be fairly accurate at predicting a rough puree vs. fine chop vs. rough chop.

The Boon was among our top three easiest to use machines, right along with its counterpart, the Kidalog Baby Food Mill, and the Baby Brezza Elite. We were so impressed with how simple it was to use, that we awarded it a whopping score of 9/10.

Ease of Cleaning


Cleaning a machine such as the Boon should be relatively easy, and it is, if you follow all of the directions. Caution needs to be exercised with the blades, as the three very thin, flexible, rectangular blades are extraordinarily sharp. The bowl, plastic lid, and blade mechanism are dishwasher safe, which is a nice convenience. We knocked points off for how challenging it can be to clean the housing of the hand crank, should water accidentally get trapped in there. The Boon would have scored higher than 7/10 had it not been for this fairly major inconvenience.
boon mush manual - the blades of the boon mush manual compared to the metal disk of the...
The blades of the Boon Mush Manual compared to the metal disk of the Kidalog Food Mill. We found the Boon was great at producing a rough chop while the Kidalog was better as mashing all food into a fine puree.
Credit: Natalie Hale


Capacity


Compared to its primary competition, the Kidalog Food Mill Grinder, the Boon Mush Manual offers a much larger capacity at 3 ½ cups. We were quite impressed when it actually held up to the claim and awarded it a score of 8/10.

Durability


The Boon is made from BPA-free, Phthalate-free and PVC-free plastics. We were impressed at how well it handled chopping a variety of consistencies but were concerned with how well the chopping blades would hold up over time. The flexible metal blades are the longest of all the machines we tested. That is not to say the will not last, but we were concerned about it.

Portability


boon mush manual - the boon fits nicely in a diaper bag for parents who want to take it...
The Boon fits nicely in a diaper bag for parents who want to take it with them on the road or to a restaurant.
Credit: Natalie Hale
The Boon is meant to be portable. This little machine can easily be crammed into a diaper bag so parents can prep food on the go or at a restaurant. Out of all the machines we tested, we would highly recommend this one to parents to use for that purpose and awarded it a near perfect score of 9/10. With how easy it is to use, parents can prep food at a restaurant so fast that most of those around them won't even realize what has happened!

Best Applications


The Boon would be a handy choice for parents who desire a portable food making system for an older baby, who has already been introduced to pureed food, and is ready to encounter more texture with their budding palate.

Value


At the time of this review, this unit was priced at $30.87 online. This is more than the cost of the Kidalog Baby Food Mill (the winner of our Best Value Award) and a few of the blenders we tested. If you are seeking a portable machine that chops well (but does not necessarily puree), this would be a good option. It's not our favorite though, when there are so many others available with more options and better price tags such as the Sage Spoonfuls Puree and Blend or the Kidalog Baby Food Mill.

Conclusion


This is a great little machine for parents who want to include some fresh food in their infants diet but do not seek to produce large quantities and/or finer purees. The machine is certainly capable of making a few cups of very soft foods at a time, which could also be handy for parents looking to freeze chopped food for later use.

Natalie Hale