-
1
Peel, quarter, and core pears. Slice the quarter crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. You should have about about 8 cups.
-
2
Peel your lemon and julienne the zest. Halve and juice the lemons and reserve the juice.
-
3
Peel the ginger, thinly slice it lengthwise, and then julienne it to be a similar shape to the lemon julienne.
-
4
In a preserving kettle layer pears, sugar, honey, lemon zest, and ginger, finishing with a layer of sugar. Cover with foil and let stand overnight on the kitchen counter.
-
5
The next day, place a plate and 3 spoons in your freezer.
-
6
Remove the foil from the pears, stir in 1/3 cup of lemon juice and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium to medium-low heat. Cook very slowly until the pears are tender and translucent and the syrup is thick, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Be careful not to burn them. Add a little water if they begin to stick to the bottom of your kettle before the pears are tender.
-
7
When the pears begin to look translucent, test the consistency of the syrup by placing a bit on one of your cold spoons and putting it back in the freezer for another minute or two. You want a consistency just thicker than maple syrup but not as thick as honey. If your pear syrup is not thick enough, cook another 10 minutes and test again.
-
8
Gently stir in the black pepper just before you pull the preserves off the stove. Ladle hot preserves into hot sterilized jars and top with 2-piece canner lids. You can store your preserves in the refrigerator (or freezer if you use freezer safe jars), or you can process them for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath canner for pantry storage.
-
9
Resource: National Center for Home Food Preservation for instructions on using a water bath canner. http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/using_bw_canners.html
