Across the south, pear preserves are the old fashioned favorite of many. Made with the hard Kieffer pears, which take forever to ripen so they are prized for cooking, especially preserves. These were the first preserves I ever had a hand in making. My mother would cook her pear preserves slowly while she did her other housework. She would have me spoon a little of the preserve on a cold white plate so she could check their thickness and color. To this day, I still use her method to check the doneness of my preserves. They are succulent, tart with lemon rind, and just a kiss of ginger. To me, they taste like home.