My husband’s grandfather’s farm had a massive pear tree and one of the first times we went to visit, we picked a few 10-gallon buckets-worth of pears and brought them home for his mom to make her famous pear preserves.
I remember she gave us a few jars of some that she had made the previous year and I loved them. (I literally would eat them straight out of the jar with a spoon.) However, I never had a clue how much love went into making the preserves and now that her father is no longer with us on earth and the family no longer has the farm, how sentimental and special those last few unopened jars on her shelf are to the family.
Fast-forward to today and one of the first recipes I thought about sharing when I joined the Kitchen Council for Stemilt was my mother-in-law’s pear preserves. While my recipe follows some of her tricks, I’ve discovered a few of my own and added a little bit of a flavor twist to the recipe.
Once you make your preserves, don’t forget to share the love! A jar wrapped with ribbon or raffia and tucked into a basket with biscuits, gingersnaps, or cheese make a lovely holiday or housewarming gift.