You can rinse your apples under water, or use a mixture of three parts water and one part vinegar. This will help to kill any bacteria on your apples. You can use as many apples as you like for this recipe. One apple yields approximately five ounces of puree, so you can plan accordingly.

To remove the core with a knife, first cut your apple into slices. Then, grab each slice individually and trim off the tough part along the inner edge. Your apple slices don’t need to look picture perfect. Just make sure you’ve successfully removed all of the core and seeds from the good “meat” of the apple. Make sure you do this part slowly and carefully, to avoid cutting yourself on a sharp knife or apple coring tool.

If the apples aren’t tender after ten minutes, continue checking them every five minutes until they are soft enough. The longer your apples simmer, the more likely they are to lose precious vitamins. It’s best to remove them from the heat as soon as they are tender in order to preserve their health benefits.

Many blenders have a “puree” setting, which is what you will use for this step. If your blender has speeds, use the fastest setting. [14] X Research source For very young babies, you can add a bit of water to thin your puree as needed.

If you aren’t going to finish the puree within three days, pop it in the freezer. It can last in there for up to three months.