Make this a multi-sensory experience by preparing a variety of finger foods and pureed foods that your baby has eaten before (this is important to avoid any allergic reactions).
Consider the different tastes, textures, and types of food you include. Narrate the entire time. Talk about the type of food, consistency, texture, taste (salty, sweet, bitter, sour) and how the baby responds to it.
For example, “This is a tiny piece of apple. Can you put it in your mouth? This is sweet and crisp and firm and chewy. It takes a while for you to chew it with your two little teeth. Did you like that apple? Before I peeled it, it was red.” Then give your baby something similar, but with a different texture and talk about that in detail, “Now this is a spoonful of applesauce. It is softer and easier to chew and swallow, but it is also sweet and yummy. It is a light tan color.”
Then ask your baby which one he prefers. Hold up a small piece of apple and spoonful of apple sauce and say, “Which one do you want? Apple or applesauce?” See if he reaches for one or the other or even looks at one instead of the other. Offer him another bite of the one that he chooses and tell him what he chose. “You like the applesauce better? So do I! It’s sweet and cold and yummy and you seem to really like it.”
Try this often with a variety of foods. Allow him to compare and sample and make choices. Repeat the offers and see if he continues to choose the same thing. You are allowing him autonomy while teaching him to process a lot of different sensations. You are also giving him a lot of rich, new language.