Age Suggestion
6 months
Iron-Rich
No
Common Allergen
No
Asian pear, if cooked to a soft consistency or sliced very thinly, may be introduced as soon as your baby is ready to start solids, which is generally around 6 months of age. Like apples, Asian pears are firm and crunchy (even when ripe), so take care in introducing them as raw, hard fruits and vegetables are choking hazards for babies and children.
Nicknamed the apple pear, Asian pears have similar qualities to an apple but tend to be juicier and more subtle in flavor. “An apple shouts, a pear whispers,” says food writer Nigel Slater, and in fact, the Asian pear is not a cross with an apple, but rather, a distant relative of anjou, bartlett, and other European pears. Native to the mountainous regions of Central Asia and cultivated for centuries by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean farmers and horticulturalists, Asian pear is grown for its cultural significance, medicinal benefits, and symbolism of grace, purity, wisdom, and other noble qualities. Reverence for the fruit (along with Asian immigration to Australia, North America, and other parts of the world) have resulted in thousands of varieties that, when ripe, range in ombre hues of the sun—some sandy and mottled, others golden and speckled white, even a few that are kissed with fiery bronze. Check out our age-appropriate serving ideas!
Yes. Asian pears offer tons of plant fibers that help diversify the gut microbiome. The fruit also contains plenty of vitamin C (for healthy skin and a robust immune system) and copper to help your baby’s body absorb iron from other foods.
Got a constipated baby? Pears can work wonders in moving things along as they are naturally high in fiber, fructose, and sorbitol—all of which promote bowel movements. Just be careful not to overdo it, otherwise, you may have a poop explosion on the horizon!
★Tip: Hold that peeler! While young babies won’t be able to chew the skin of Asian pears well, pear skin generally contains tons of nutrients and offers antioxidant benefits, which can be up to 20 times more prevalent in the skin than in the inner flesh. Just be sure to wash the fruit before serving as pears often contain pesticide residue.
Yes. Hard fruits and vegetables are choking hazards for babies and toddlers, though infants six months of age and older do have additional protections against choking (tongue thrust reflux and sensitive gag reflux). To reduce the risk, cook Asian pear until soft, grate, or thinly slice before serving. As always, make sure to create a safe eating environment for your little one, always stay nearby during mealtime, and check out our age-appropriate serving suggestions.
For more information, visit our section on gagging and choking and familiarize yourself with common choking hazards.
No. However, individuals with birch pollen allergy or Oral Allergy Syndrome (also called pollen-food allergy syndrome) may be sensitive to raw pears. Symptoms of Oral Allergy Syndrome generally consist of mild oral itching, and are unlikely to be dangerous. As you would when introducing any new food, start by offering a small quantity on its own for the first couple of servings. If there is no adverse reaction, gradually increase the quantity over future meals.
Every baby develops on their own timeline, and the suggestions on how to cut or prepare particular foods are generalizations for a broad audience.
Offer large sections of cooked Asian pear with the core, seeds, and stem removed (removing the skin is optional). Once cool, try handing a whole half section in the air for your baby to grab and hold. This is easier for babies than picking up slippery pieces on their own. Rolling cooked pear in hemp seeds, finely shredded coconut, or finely ground nut can help add grip. Encouraging baby to hold the food with two hands is also helpful in managing slippery textures.
Continue to offer large halves of cooked Asian pear with the core, seeds, and stem removed. If your baby is showing success in breaking off pieces of fruit and chewing, you can thinly slice or grate the raw fruit to minimize the choking risk. (Slicing into paper-thin rounds may work well, as opposed to half-moon pieces.) Note: At this age, your baby is likely to spit much of the raw fruit out. Many times, they will pick up pieces of spit out food and bring it back to their mouths. This is completely normal and part of healthy oral motor development as your baby learns to move food around in their mouth to chew and swallow.
Serve thinly sliced raw Asian pear, and as your toddler gets better at chewing and swallowing, increasing the thickness of the slices and leaving the skins on, which will help acclimate your child to fruit skins overall. Don’t be surprised if your toddler spits the skin out; this is still normal at this age and part of the process of getting used to the texture.
At this age, your toddler may be ready to take on a whole pear! Give it a go once you feel comfortable. A whole pear (with or without the skin) may be safer than halves or quarters of raw pear because toddlers take smaller bites when working with a whole piece of fruit than they otherwise would with sections of fruit that they can put further into their mouth.
Asian pears can have thick skin that toddlers may spit out—a good skill to learn! If your child is struggling with the skin, try peeling the pear in stripes, leaving some skin on and taking some off. Acclimating little ones to fruit skins is an important step in learning about a food’s natural texture.
For more information on how to cut food for babies, visit our page on Food Sizes & Shapes.
Sign up for weekly tips, recipes and more!
The content offered on SolidStarts.com is for informational purposes only. Solidstarts is not engaged in rendering professional advice, whether medical or otherwise, to individual users or their children or families. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or your medical or health professional, nutritionist, or expert in pediatric feeding and eating. By accessing the content on SolidStarts.com, you acknowledge and agree that you are accepting the responsibility for your child’s health and well-being. In return for providing you with an array of content “baby-led weaning” information, you waive any claims that you or your child may have as a result of utilizing the content on SolidStarts.com.