PEARS
Pears are such a healthy and great source of fiber, copper, vitamin C, vitamin B-6, vitamin K, provitamin A, potassium, flavonoids, calcium, iron, magnesium, riboflavin, folate, niacin and antioxidants *fewfff! That’s a handful!
Niacin and folate are so important for your baby’s cellular function and energy production for your growing baby. While the provitamin A supports wound healing and skin health, especially once your little one starts to walk and are more prone to bumping their little heads! Potassium and copper play an important role in immunity, nerve function, heart function, and muscle contractions.
When you are making pears for your baby, make sure you include the peel in the pear. The peel provides six times more polyphenols than the flesh of the fruit.
HOW TO MAKE PEAR PUREE
What Kind of Pears Should You Use to Make Pear Puree for Your Baby?
Pears are such a versatile fruit. Although there are about 3000 varieties of pears worldwide I tend to find Bartlett, Bosc, Comice or D’Anjou in a variety of colors at local stores. When selecting pears press a finger gently on the top where the stem attaches to the fruit. If it starts to give, it is ripe.
I always purchase organic pears as pears are part of the “dirty dozen” fruits that can be high in pesticides!. These pesticides have even been located in many baby foods which is another reason to make your own in order to always know what is in your little one’s meal. I love buying my daughter a variety of organic pears. Once your baby masters single fruit purees, you can mix pears with practically everything for added flavor, nutrients and flavor!
Wash the Pears
I always wash the pears first before slicing. This is because I don’t want to push any dirt, pesticides (non organic) or other unwanted contaminants that can be living on the outside of the pear.
How to Cook the Pears
I love making this pear puree recipe because it doubles as puree for my baby as well as pear sauce for mommy and daddy’s toast! I love steaming the pear, but you can also always bake/roast the pears as well. Try avoiding boiling the pears because this can reduce the amount of nutrients that the pears normally provide.
STEP 1
Steam the Pears
Slice the pears in half; making sure to remove the core and seeds. Do not peal in order to retain the most nutritious part of the fruit! You can scoop out the core and seeds with a melon ball scoop or just a spoon.
Next steam the pears by filling up a pot with about one inch water and placing the steamer basket filled with the pears on top. Steam on the stove for about 15 minutes (or until tender) on med/low. Make sure that the water does not reach the bottom of the steamer basket or you will end up boiling it instead of steaming it!
Other options to consider are steaming your pears in a microwave or pressure cooker.
STEP 2
Blend the Pears
Using my Blendtec (always blends my baby purees perfectly), I blend the pears until they’re a silky smooth puree. When your baby first starts on solids, you want to blend their food to being silky smooth because they are not ready to handle textures quite yet. Once your baby starts to grow you can leave the puree a little chunkier and chunkier as they age. These steamed pears usually soak up the water when they’re steamed, so I do not usually add liquid to my blender when blending them to a smooth consistency.
You can add cinnamon to your baby’s pear puree too. Cinnamon is so healthy for both babies and adults! Cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, can help fight bacterial and fungal infections, lowers blood sugar levels, may cut the risk of heart disease, and may even protect against certain cancers.
STEP 3
Freeze the Pears
When you make your baby purees; I always recommend making it in a large batch so you can easily heat up the frozen batches on another day. I love using these silicone trays because they are easy to remove the purees from and they freeze in small honeycomb shapes, which are much easier to defrost than the large square cubes that other companies offer and take longer to defrost. A cube or two is also easy to add to other vegetables or grains.
Once the puree is frozen in the silicone trays, pop out the honeycomb ice cubes and store them in an airtight container or ziplock freezer bag in the freezer.
STEP 4
Reheat the Pears
If frozen, warm the frozen pear puree in a microwaveable safe dish (I like to use the OXO Tot baby block glass container for heating up my baby’s food) in the microwave for 30 seconds (pausing half way to stir). At the moment I like to use 8 honeycomb cubes for my baby (about as much as she eats at the moment per feeding). Make sure the pear puree are not too warm/hot before feeding your baby! You can also reheat over the stove as well.
You can also combine other whole foods in your baby’s puree that you have previously frozen, for optimal flavor and nutrients. The following list is a general guide, so feel free to be adventurous and combine and build your own meals for your little one:)
Pear Flavor Compatibility Guide
| Bananas | Blackberries | Blueberries | Broccoli |
| Figs | Black Beans | Cantaloupe | Cherries |
| Beets | Honeydew Melon | Kidney Beans | Chard |
| Garbanzo Beans | Cannellini Beans | Green Beans | Lentils |
| Nectarines | Avocados | Papaya | Peaches |
| Mangoes | Apricots | Navy Beans | Parsnips |
| Apples | Kale | Carrots | Kiwifruit |
| Northern Beans | Cauliflower | Pinto Beans | Plums/Prunes |
| Turnips | Spinach | Strawberries | Sweet Potatoes |
| Raspberries | Summer Squash | Split Peas | Whole Grains |
| Winter Squash | Pumpkin | Sweet Peas | Cereal |
If you have read my post on the importance of probiotics for your child (linked here); you can sprinkle a little probiotics on top of your homemade baby food for added nutritious value.
If you make something from Herb’n Sage, I would love to hear about it in the comments! Don’t forget to rate this recipe and follow along on Instagram and Youtube for more recipes and inspirations for your creations for your little loved one(s)<3
Bon Appétit!
xoxo – Sage
Pear Puree
Homemade Baby Pear Puree is so easy to make and tastes so much better than store bought varieties!
Ingredients
- Pears (I used three Bosc pears)
Directions
- Wash the pears
- Cut off the stems
- Slice the pears in half and core the center removing the seeds
- Steam for 15 minutes
- Blend the pears with the skin on
- Freeze excess pear puree in the freezer (I like to freeze my purees in these silicone trays)
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Herb'n Sage 