Rhubarb and pear puree

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes. Cutting the pears into smaller chunks reduces the cooking time.
Difficulty rating: Easy
Age recommendation: 7 months and above

Ingredients:

Makes 50 servings.

• 850 g rhubarb (about 10 rhubarb stalks  with the ends chopped off)
• 2 kg pears (1.5 kg when chopped and cored – about 8 pears)
• 2 cups filtered boiled water

Method:

1. Peel the pears, remove the cores and cut into small chunks. You can cut into large chunks, but you will need to cook them for longer.
2. Put the pear chunks and water in a saucepan and boil over a medium heat for about 15 minutes, until they soften. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the pear chunks.
3. Add the rhubarb and cook until tender.
4. If required, add extra water if mixture becomes too thick.
5. Puree using a hand wand (or mix in a food processor) until the mixture is smooth (or, for babies eight months and older, leave a few lumps for texture).
6. Let cool before serving.

Tips:

• Before giving your baby this puree, introduce them to the taste of rhubarb and pears individually – you may need to feed them each single puree 8-10 times until they get used to the taste, before introducing this mixed puree.
• Give your baby small amounts of puree to dip rusks into. They enjoy the taste (and probably the mess they make) and will also be practising feeding themselves.
• From about eight months of age, babies should begin eating lumpy purees to develop the chewing muscles in their mouths. Leave some small lumps when processing this puree for older babies.
• This puree freezes well. Put in the freezer in baby-size portions (e.g. freeze it in an ice cube tray). It can be stored for several months and thawed when you need a quick and easy baby meal.
• This puree also makes a compote for eating with yoghurt.
• Add 2 tbsp of strawberry natural fruit jam (made with fruit concentrate not sugar) for sweetness if required.
• You can use the rhubarb and pear puree as the base for a crumble for dessert. Mix 70g of butter with 1 1/3 cups of oats, ¾ cup of plain flour and 2/3 cup of raw sugar. Mix the ingredients together then sprinkle over the top of the puree in a baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes.

Nutritional content:

Nutritional content per serve (30 grams):

References

1. Queensland Health. Introduction to Solids. 2008 (cited 28 January 2016). Available from: (URL link)
2. Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Food Nutrient Database. 2013 (cited 28 January 2016). Available from: (URL link)