I've been avoiding making peas, I have bad associations with peas. So, pears it is! This week I found that Sprouts (aka Sprouts Farmer's Market) has very inexpensive organic fresh produce options. I'm talking, like, cheaper than 'regular' produce found at groceries store. <insert gaping mouth emoji here>.
I bought these delicious looking pears, they're on the smaller side, but they look picture perfect (not kidding, check it out!). They are rosy, and yellow, and not too squishy. They looked so appetizing I bought almost three pounds worth (10 pears). Pears are not on the 'dirty dozen' (this is the NEW, updated list of dirty produce), so you do not have to buy organic, but you might want to if they look this pretty.
I read that you do not have to cook pears, so that's pretty easy. However, I just couldn't get all the chunks out with an uncooked pear, so I steamed them for about 10 minutes. It wasn't that it was too chunky for baby, but the consistency seemed very uneven to me, so the second time I chose to steam them. Also, I kept a sealed container of uncooked pear overnight in the fridge and it oxidized. It developed a brownish pink top layer and I didn't use it. I'm sure it would have been fine to use, but I just didn't.
1). Clean your cooking area and wash your fruit.
2). Peel the sticky SOBs (Slimy Oval Beauties, silly). Careful, they are SO slippery. My ten pears turned to nine because one slipped out of BOTH my hands and went directly into the trashcan. It's literally like trying to hold on to a wet bar of soap.
3). Remove the core and cut into wedges. Just as with apples and avocados, pears oxidize quickly, so they will turn a bit brown if left out.
4). Place your pear wedges into a steamer with boiling water and cover with lid. I used about three cups of water.
5). Steam for about 15-20 minutes, or until soft.
6). Puree! You do not need to add any liquid, the pears contain a lot of juice and will blend nicely.
I bought these delicious looking pears, they're on the smaller side, but they look picture perfect (not kidding, check it out!). They are rosy, and yellow, and not too squishy. They looked so appetizing I bought almost three pounds worth (10 pears). Pears are not on the 'dirty dozen' (this is the NEW, updated list of dirty produce), so you do not have to buy organic, but you might want to if they look this pretty.
I read that you do not have to cook pears, so that's pretty easy. However, I just couldn't get all the chunks out with an uncooked pear, so I steamed them for about 10 minutes. It wasn't that it was too chunky for baby, but the consistency seemed very uneven to me, so the second time I chose to steam them. Also, I kept a sealed container of uncooked pear overnight in the fridge and it oxidized. It developed a brownish pink top layer and I didn't use it. I'm sure it would have been fine to use, but I just didn't.
1). Clean your cooking area and wash your fruit.
2). Peel the sticky SOBs (Slimy Oval Beauties, silly). Careful, they are SO slippery. My ten pears turned to nine because one slipped out of BOTH my hands and went directly into the trashcan. It's literally like trying to hold on to a wet bar of soap.
3). Remove the core and cut into wedges. Just as with apples and avocados, pears oxidize quickly, so they will turn a bit brown if left out.
4). Place your pear wedges into a steamer with boiling water and cover with lid. I used about three cups of water.
5). Steam for about 15-20 minutes, or until soft.
6). Puree! You do not need to add any liquid, the pears contain a lot of juice and will blend nicely.
7). Like I said earlier, I used nine small pears. They yielded about 22oz of pear puree.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours (some sites say 72), or freeze.
