IDDSI FAQ: In what form is corn served in IDDSI?
Roche Dietitians is doing a series of Frequently Asked Questions about IDDSI from our clients, partners, and IDDSI Community Group on LinkedIn. We welcome your questions about IDDSI. To submit a question, type your question in the comment section below. To view the other FAQs, visit our blog.
Question:
“In what form is corn served in IDDSI?”
Answer:
Corn is one of those foods that is hard to make into a texture that works for IDDSI because of the hard outer skin. Even if we try to puree corn in a powerful food processor, the skin will get very small but will remain hard. This is true for the other IDDSI levels as well. The problem is not getting the corn to the size we need it, the problem is how the corn will not get soft and smooth.
Therefore the way corn is served is as follows:
Do not serve it. Substitute another vegetable that meets the IDDSI testing methods for the level you are serving.
Push the corn through a sieve/strainer. This is a challenge because you need to have the right size so that you get all of the corn skin out. This may not be a practical approach depending on your operation.
Buy commercially available pureed corn. Manufacturers use industrial screens to get the corn to the appropriate consistency. I have tasted some canned pureed corn and it is delicious, AND meets the IDDSI testing for Puree (Level 4).
I recently created a training program that shows your team how to make foods for each IDDSI level and test them correctly. Check out the link below to learn more about the training program: