Apple or pear purée
Suitable first food – around 6 months
Makes ½ cup of apple or pear purée
Gluten free
No added soya
No added egg
No added milk
Vegetarian
Ingredients:
• 1 large apple or ripe pear
• 3 tablespoons water (for Microwave method)
• Or ¾ cup water (Saucepan method)
Method:
Peel, core and quarter the apple or pear. Be sure to remove all tough bits around the core. Cut quarters into thin slices. Rinse the slices.
Microwave method:
Place sliced fruit in a small oven-glass casserole or microwave dish. Add the 3 tablespoons of water.
Cover and microwave for 4 to 5 minutes. Allow to stand until cool.
If there is a lot of liquid in the dish, drain some off into a bowl and reserve it.
Saucepan method:
Place sliced fruit in a small saucepan with ¾ cup water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until soft. Check and add extra water during cooking if needed.
Both Methods:
Mash the fruit well with a potato masher, or use a hand-held electric blender to make a purée. Rub purée through a sieve or mouli so it is very smooth. (Later on, as baby becomes used to different textures, just mash the cooked fruit well with a fork.)
Adjust consistency to suit baby.
If the purée is too thick, thin it with reserved cooking liquid, cooled, boiled water, expressed breast milk or infant formula.
Choose ripe fruit. Do not use a rock-hard pear; let firm pears ripen at room temperature until they are almost soft enough to eat. The cooked purée will be softer and sweeter.
Some apples cook quickly to a fluffy pulp (e.g. Granny Smith), while other varieties soften but hold their shape (e.g. Splendour) or need longer cooking. Apples vary in sweetness too. But all can be made into a soft purée.
It is important that fruit purée is perfectly smooth to begin with. Even if you have been careful when preparing fruit there can be little tough bits left. So for a really smooth purée, rub the cooked fruit through a sieve.
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