As a naturally sweet, nutrient-dense and incredibly versatile food, pears are a fundamental first food for babies. They can be pureed (with or without other ingredients) for the earliest introduction, served as ripe, soft slices during baby led weaning or diced for older babies practicing their pincer grasp. Read on for the benefits of introducing pears as one of baby’s first foods, how to safely prepare them and more.

Top 3 Benefits of Pears as a First Food

• Fiber: Pears are a fiber powerhouse, ranking higher than almost every other fruit with 6 grams in just one pear. As babies start eating solids, their digestive systems must adapt to a range of new foods and constipation is a common problem, which pears can help alleviate thanks to their fiber content. (Bonus! Since constipation can be an issue during pregnancy and postpartum, pears are an ideal food for moms-to-be and new moms to enjoy as well.)
• Iron Absorption: Iron is essential for baby’s brain, body, and immune system development. Babies are born with iron reserves that wane by about 6 months of age, so it’s important to serve iron-rich foods as soon as solids are introduced. There are two types of iron – heme (found in animal products) and nonheme (found in plant foods, like beans). While heme iron is absorbed more readily compared to nonheme iron, many young babies don’t take to meat right away, and nonheme iron found in foods like beans or tofu is not as readily absorbed. However, combining plant-based sources of iron with a source of vitamin C, like pears, enhances iron absorption.¹
• A Sweet You Should Eat: Did you know babies are exposed to sweet flavors from birth (since breastmilk contains 2g sugar per ounce, and most formulas contain at least that)?² The USDA advises added sugars should be avoided before 2 years,³ which makes pears a great addition to vegetable, grain or even meat purees to make new flavors more palatable for little ones. Not to mention of course, pears served on their own are sure to result in big smiles and full bellies.

How to Safely Offer Pear to Babies

To check if a pear is ripe, check the neck: Apply gentle pressure to the neck of the pear with your thumb. If the area near the stem yields to pressure, it’s ripe and ready to eat. For a pear to be safe for serving to babies raw, the skin and flesh should be soft to the point you can mash it between your fingers – typically a little more ripe than what many adults would prefer. If a pear is firm, you can boil, steam or saute to soften.

6-9 months:

• Purees: Blend raw or cooked pear with a little breastmilk or formula to desired consistency. A thick puree can be spoon-fed or offered on a self-feeding spoon, or a thinner consistency can be offered in an open or straw cup for baby to practice her drinking skills. Parents can also use pear in any number of smoothie recipes, for a delicious and healthy snack to share (just make sure to avoid honey in any smoothies for babies younger than 12 months).
• Wedges/Spears: For baby led weaning, use either a super ripe or cooked pear and cut into large spears roughly the size and shape of a finger. Try rolling in hemp seeds, ground flaxseeds, nuts, finely shredded coconut, etc. to keep it from slipping out of baby’s hands.
• Grate or Mash: Raw pear can be grated or mashed and added to oatmeal, yogurt, hummus etc.

Image Credit: Min Kwon of MJ & Hungryman Blog

9-12 months:

• In addition to the suggestions above, you can thinly slice raw pears.
• If the pear is ripe and the skin and flesh are super soft, you can dice into bite-sized pieces.

A note on skin: As with many fruits and vegetables, most of the nutrients in pears are found in the skin. It is safe to leave on if the skin and flesh are really ripe and soft. Your baby may spit it out, but this is great texture exposure nonetheless! For firmer pears, wait until baby is at least 12 months old before leaving the skin on.

Image Credit: Min Kwon of MJ & Hungryman Blog

Pear Varieties

There are 10 varieties of USA Pears, each with its own distinctive color, flavor and texture. With overlapping seasons of availability, USA Pears are in season nearly year-round. Some pear varieties, such as Bartlett, Red Bartlett, and Starkrimson, get softer and sweeter when ripe, making them ideal for serving to babies raw. Varieties like Red or Green Anjou, Bosc, Comice, or Concorde, don’t ripen to be quite as soft, making them better for cooking, grating or blending into purees.

For Babies and Beyond

According to USDA MyPlate recommendations, toddlers should eat ½ to 1 serving of fruit per day and children 2-4 years should eat 1 to 1½ servings. As children get older, their fruit needs increase to up to 2-3 servings per day. A medium pear is equal to one serving of fruit, and all the health benefits for baby continue through childhood and into adulthood, including during pregnancy and postpartum. The vitamin C that helps babies with iron absorption is vital for immunity at all life stages. The fiber that helps little ones with constipation helps ensure bowel regularity and may even reduce the risk of colon cancer in adults. The list goes on, with emerging research studying the connection between pear consumption and weight and diabetes management, heart health, brain health and more.

Learn more about pear nutrition at any age, or explore recipes here.

1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

2 Lynch SR, Cook JD. Interaction of vitamin C and iron. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1980;355:32-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1980.tb21325.x. PMID: 6940487.

3 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025

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Think outside the pencil box!

Share a pear with your favorite teacher this school year.

Download a Pears for Teachers sticker and bring a smile to your teacher’s face.

Downloadable sticker

Try our after school snack recipes for kids.

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Fresh pears are a healthy addition to your school lunch menu. While the nutritional qualities of fresh pears will please you, their sweet and juicy flavor will win over the kids! Introducing children to the delicious taste of fresh pears helps encourage healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime. Beyond the Anjou and Bosc pears available to you through the USDA’s school lunch purchases, there are several fresh pear varieties that can easily be incorporated into your menu throughout the year.

Bartletts are harvested in August and are an excellent menu item through December. Anjou pears, harvested in early fall in the Northwest, remain available nearly year-round, and can stay on breakfast and lunch menus throughout the school year.

The Bosc pear is a perfect choice for baking, or serving fresh with nut butters, yogurt, or cubed cheese. Tiny, sweet Seckels served whole make a healthy tray snack, just the right size for your youngest students.

Visit our foodservice site for kid approved recipes, including a Pear and Pumpkin Snack Cake and Pear and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. These recipes have been developed using other commodity foods to make your meal planning easier and healthier!

Be sure to serve USA Pears fully ripe, when they are at their maximum level of sweetness and hold the most juice. You can ask your distributor to ripen them for you, so that your USA Pear deliveries are ready for immediate use. Most pears, except Bartletts, don’t change color as they ripen. Check the Neck for Ripeness at the stem end, using slight pressure with your thumb. Pears are ripe and ready to eat when they yield to gentle pressure.

Our school foodservice materials will help you have a successful experience with fresh pears on the lunch menu. For additional information, please email us. To order USA Pears, contact your produce supplier.

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Connect the Dots

Mix and Match

Perry Soccer Color Sheet

Word Scramble

Word Search

The post Activity Sheets appeared first on USA Pears.

As you may already know, fresh pears are a wonderful addition to daily meals. Pears are a fun fruit to teach kids about, too. You’ve come to the right place for fruity fun facts! Did you know that pears don’t float? Or that pears are one of the few fruits that don’t ripen on the tree? Check out our Tree to Table section for more juicy facts on pears.

The growers of USA Pears are committed to helping educators and school foodservice professionals like you to teach the importance of good nutrition.

We hope you find these pages useful. Please email us if you have feedback or suggestions for content.

Pear-ing up to teach good nutrition

Healthy habits are best learned at a young age, when children are still establishing eating habits that will last a lifetime. Outside the home, classrooms and cafeterias provide the best source of nutritional education.

Bring pear nutrition lessons to the classroom with our school kit! Geared toward teachers and foodservice professionals, our school kit includes a range of material suitable for elementary-aged schoolchildren. Our complimentary kit includes foodservice recipes, activity sheets, sample materials, and more.

Email us for more information.

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Cooking with your child is a great way to expand their science, math and language skills while spending quality family time. Pears in particular have a lot to offer as they are healthy, delicious AND fun to learn about!

Here are some tips and suggestions to keep in mind as you and your child use pears in the kitchen:

• Allow your child to help choose pears at the grocery store and ask them to guess how many days it will take for the pears to be ripe and ready to eat. They will enjoy checking the neck for ripeness each day to see if their prediction is correct!
• Examine different varieties of pears and ask your child to use descriptive words for differences and similarities in taste, shape, smell, color, and texture.
• Let children help choose the recipe to prepare, and use the conversation to introduce healthy eating habits!

For more information about cooking with kids including safety advice, determining which tasks are age-appropriate, how to manage the mess, and the benefits of sharing time together in the kitchen, visit these links to doctor-reviewed articles on kidshealth.org:

Cooking with Kids

Cooking with Preschoolers

Cooking with School-age Kids

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