Baby Food - Pears

For those of you who want a more detailed set of instructions to apply for most foods (produce) if you're looking to make your own baby food, here's what I do:

1. Wash

Wash the food well, even if you're going to peel it - those germs can spread through the knife or peeler!

2. Peel (if needed)

The only exception to this one that I've found is sweet potatoes. You peel those after you cook them. 
I normally use a potato peeler for my peeling - I'm just so bad at peeling with a knife!

3. Chop

The smaller the pieces, the better. This is especially true with smaller blenders, because those have a harder time liquifying. It will also help them to cook faster.

4. Cook (if needed)

Some foods - like bananas - are already soft enough that you don't need to cook them. In this case, the pears were so ripe that I skipped this step. Rule of thumb: the riper the better. Not only is it soft, but it's also sweeter for your little one. 

If you do need to cook them, chop them up and place them in a steamer over boiling water for about 10 minutes.

5. Mash or Purée

Puréeing might not be necessary depending on what stage your child is in. For example, Baby is almost a year now and he doesn't mind a few chunks here and there. Bananas, specifically, I just mash and scoop into ice cub trays. Two easy steps. But when he first started solids, only the smoothest of purées would be acceptable to him.

If no puréeing is necessary, just mash with a potato masher until it's the consistency you want it.

As you can see, there are still some chunks in here. If you aren't sure if your little one will like it, try feeding him some before you do anything else. If he eats it, great. If he spits it out, you might want to throw it in the blender. Baby actually spit this one out - he's not too fond of pears to begin with - so I went ahead and put it in the blender.

Note: pears already have a lot of water in them, so I didn't need to add water before blending. But for many other fruits and veggies, you will have to add water in order for it to blend smoothly. Just pay attention to your blender. If it's struggling, add a little water until it blends with ease.

See? Much smoother consistency. This is also ideal if you want to mix this with other foods. Pears and applesauce are nice, bland foods you can mix in with less-delicious things, like peas, to make it tastier for your little one.

6. Scoop & Freeze

Using a spoon, scoop the liquified food into ice cube trays and freeze them. Once they're solid, deposit them into a labeled plastic baggy for easy and convenient retrieval when that little monster starts his hunger whining.