Tuesday, April 26, 2011

How to Make Homemade Baby Food - Pears

As I mentioned in this post here, I knew for sure that I would make Rex's baby food when the time came to introduce solids into his diet. The main reason driving this desire was my passion for cooking and feeding that homemade food to the ones I love. But of course, there were other benefits that would go along with making his meals. I would know what he is getting in each meal and could be sure there are no preservatives or additives in each serving. I also wouldn't have to store tons of those mini glass jars in our pantry or worry about stocking up at the grocery. And of course it would be cheaper. I think that last benefit is one that could have been easily thrown out the window if I chose to do it the wrong way though. If I were to give into the urge to purchase all of the fancy baby food making accessories that are on the market today, telling myself it was cheaper would be a lie. Don't get me wrong - these homemade baby food products for assisting in this endeavor are super cool. There are appliances, cook books and snazzy ice cube storage trays. All of which I am sure would be helpful, but I was determined to make it work with what I had. After all, I have a fully equipped kitchen for making adult food and I figured I would be able to pull it off sans any unnecessary purchases. Pear puree (Rex's all time favorite so far) is the perfect recipe to showcase how I used what I already had in my kitchen to make baby food without the aid of any baby food specific kitchen items.

Homemade Baby Food - Pears

Ingredients

4 Ripened Pears

Directions

1.) Peel Pears using a vegetable peeler. Cut pear into cubes; discarding stem and core.

2.) Place a colander over a small sauce pan filled with 2 inches of water making sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the colander. Place over medium heat. When the water begins to boil, place the cubed pear into the colander

3.) Cover with the top of a pot cover that will fit inside the colendar. Steam for 10 minutes.

4.) Remove steamed pears and puree using an immersion blender, a food processer or liquid drink blender.
5.) Store in small containers and cover immediately to avoid browning. Let cool and refrigerate or freeze.

5 comments:

Sush said...

Elizabeth, it is so comforting to see someone realize you can make good homemade baby food without all the fancy schmancy equipment. All five of my children were raised on homemade baby food. Didn't have the immersion blenders in the Pioneer days but blenders and food processors worked fine. As you mentioned the best thing about it is you KNOW what your baby is eating! Keep informing your readers with your wonderful recipes and more pictures of Rex when you get a chance!
Hugs~

Woody said...

This is so good that sometimes I sneak a few bites of Rex's pears when his mom isnt looking.

the husband

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Hana said...

How long can you keep the pear puree in the fridge or freezer for? We have a bumper crop of pears from our tree this year but my baby won't be ready for solids for another couple of months...

Elizabeth said...

Hana,

I followed guidlines that recommended no longer than 3 months in the freezer.