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Baby food recipes

Fennel Puree with Pear for Babies: A Simple Recipe

Fennel Puree with Pear for Babies: A Fresh Serving, Step by Step, with Video. Also: when to start adding fennel, how to steam pears, and why you shouldn't reheat the porridge.

By the LIINI editorial teamUpdated 6 min read6 sources

Pear with fennel porridge recipe
Contents

In short

To make this fennel puree for your baby, cook the fennel and a potato until tender—about 15 minutes—then briefly sauté the pear with them and puree everything together with a little canola oil. Fennel is high in nitrates: Once you start introducing solid foods, you can add it to the baby food occasionally; according to the BLV, it becomes less of a concern starting at 7 months. Serve the porridge immediately after cooking; do not keep it warm or reheat it. That’s why you’re only cooking 1 serving.

Fennel adds a subtle hint of anise to the baby food, while the ripe pear gives it a mild flavor. This recipe for fennel puree for babies follows the basic guidelines provided by the expert organizations: vegetables, potatoes, and canola oil, as recommended by the BLV, plus some fruit, as recommended by Gesund ins Leben.

Recipe: Fennel and Pear Puree

  • Age: preferably starting at 7 months
  • Amount: 1 serving
  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cooking time: 20 minutes
  • Freezing: Not recommended; eat fresh

Ingredients for 1 serving

  • 100 g fennel (½ small bulb), organic if possible
  • 50 g potato (1 small, floury variety), as a supplement to the video
  • 50 g ripe pear (½ small pear)
  • 1–2 teaspoons of canola oil (5–10 ml)
  • 300 ml water for cooking (to be discarded)
  • 3–4 tablespoons of fresh water for pureeing (45–60 ml)

Preparation

  1. Get ready. Wash your hands. Wash the fennel and pear briefly but thoroughly under running water. Cut the stem and tough outer leaves off the fennel, then slice the rest into thin strips. Peel the potato and the pear, core the pear, and cut both into small pieces.
  2. Bring 300 ml of water to a boil in a small pan (saucepan). Add the fennel and potatoes, cover, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
  3. Sauté the pears. Add the pear pieces for the last 5 minutes, until they are tender.
  4. Discard the cooking water. Pour it all out and do not reuse the cooking water. Here’s what the BLV recommends for vegetables high in nitrates.
  5. Puree: Puree the fennel, potato, and pear with 3–4 tablespoons of fresh water until smooth.
  6. Stir in the oil and serve immediately. Stir in the canola oil, let the porridge cool briefly, and check the temperature with your own spoon. Feed them right away and throw away any leftovers.
The video shows how it is made. The amounts and steps in the recipe above follow the recommendations of expert bodies. Playing the video loads it from YouTube, which sets its own cookies.

When is fennel puree appropriate for a baby? Age and Consistency

According to the Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (BLV), you should start introducing solid foods no earlier than the beginning of the 5th month and no later than the beginning of the 7th month. The guide “Solid Foods: When and How to Start” explains when your baby is ready.

According to the BLV, fennel, like kohlrabi, beets, spinach, and Swiss chard, is one of the vegetables high in nitrates. Nitrate can be converted into nitrite, which can impair oxygen supply in infants, especially during the first few months of life. Are you starting in the 5. or At 6 months, low-nitrate vegetables such as carrots, squash, or broccoli are better suited for a baby’s first spoonfuls—for example, in carrot puree with apple. According to the BLV, there is generally no reason to avoid fennel; from the 7th month onward, it is less of a concern.

Consistency: At first, puree the porridge until smooth; as the baby gets older, it can be coarser, according to the BLV. “Eating Right from the Start,” a guide from Austria, recommends coarsely pureed vegetables and fruits for ages 6 to 9 months, and sliced or chopped vegetables and fruits for ages 9 to 12 months. According to the Swiss Society for Nutrition (SGE), tender strips of fennel and pear pieces can be served as finger foods starting no earlier than the 7th month, and they should also be freshly cooked.

Preparing Fennel for Your Baby: Tips and Variations

  • Smart Shopping: According to the BLV, organic vegetables contain less nitrate than conventional ones, and greenhouse-grown vegetables contain more nitrate than seasonal, open-field vegetables. Store the fennel in a cool, dark place for a short time, and cook it soon.
  • How to choose a ripe pear: It gives slightly when pressed and is sweet enough on its own—you don’t need to add sugar. According to the BLV, you should leave out salt, bouillon, and spices.
  • Start small: If your baby is only eating a few spoonfuls, cook half the amount. You can’t save the rest.

Variants:

  • With meat or fish: Cook 10 g of lean meat (about 2 tsp), cut into small pieces, starting no later than the 7th month, according to the BLV and SGE. Starting on 9 through For the 10th month, the SGE recommends 20 g. According to the BLV, the same amount of boneless salmon fillet can be used instead of meat. Meat and fish must be cooked all the way through.
  • Use grains instead of potatoes: According to the BLV, you can replace 50 g of potatoes with 10–15 g of rice, pasta, or semolina (dry weight).
  • With apple: Instead of pear, you can also use 50 g of apple, either steamed along with the other ingredients or finely grated raw. According to the SGE, grated apple is also one of the first fruits.

Eat fresh: do not store, do not freeze

Fennel puree isn’t the kind of puree you should stockpile: According to the BLV, your baby should eat this nitrate-rich vegetable immediately after it’s prepared. Do not keep the porridge warm or reheat it, to minimize nitrite formation.

Attention

Therefore, do not put fennel puree in the refrigerator to save for later, do not freeze it, and do not take it with you in a food warmer or insulated container, because all of that would mean having to reheat it later. Don’t cook it until your baby is awake and hungry.

For outings, it’s best to make a puree with low-nitrate vegetables, such as pumpkin puree with rice. Cool it down quickly, take it with you once it’s chilled, and reheat it once you get there—see ” How to Keep Porridge Warm on the Go.” “Cooking in Advance and Freezing for Other Baby Foods” explains how to make your own baby food.

Frequently Asked Questions

When can my baby start eating fennel?

Once you start introducing solid foods, you can add fennel to the baby food from time to time—that is, starting no earlier than the beginning of the 5th month. Because fennel contains a lot of nitrate, the BLV recommends that low-nitrate vegetables such as carrots or squash are better suited for a baby’s first spoonfuls. According to the BLV, fennel is less of a concern starting in the 7th month.

When can my baby start eating pears, and do I need to steam them?

Pears are a good choice when starting solid foods: The SGE cites grated pears as an example of the first fruits to introduce. You can finely grate a very ripe pear while it’s still raw. When steamed, it becomes softer and can be pureed even more finely; all it takes is a few minutes in a little water.

Can I freeze or reheat fennel puree?

No. According to the BLV, you should serve porridge made with nitrate-rich vegetables, such as fennel, immediately after preparing it; do not keep it warm or reheat it. Freezing it, therefore, doesn’t make sense, because thawed porridge would have to be reheated.

How do I prepare fennel for my baby?

Cut off the stem and the tough outer leaves, slice the tuber into thin strips, and boil them in water for about 15 minutes until tender. According to the BLV, pour out the cooking water and puree the vegetables with fresh water. You don’t need salt, bouillon, or spices.

Can I warm up fennel puree in a food warmer while I’m out and about?

No. To do that, you’d have to cook the porridge ahead of time and reheat it later, which the BLV advises against when using vegetables high in nitrates. When you’re on the go, it’s best to bring along some chilled pumpkin or carrot puree and reheat it when you’re ready.

Sources

  1. Nutrition for Infants and Toddlers: Frequently Asked Questions, Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (BLV)
  2. Nutrition for Infants and Toddlers: Recipes, Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (BLV)
  3. Nutrition for Infants and Toddlers: Complementary Foods, Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (BLV)
  4. Fact Sheet: Infant Nutrition in the First Year of Life (2024, PDF), Swiss Society for Nutrition (SGE)
  5. Complementary Foods: Eating Right from the Start (AGES, Ministry of Social Affairs, Federation of Social Insurance Carriers)
  6. Vegetable, Potato, and Grain Porridge, “Healthy Start to Life” Network
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