INGREDIENTS

• The kilograms of small apples, ripe but with firm flesh and petiole
• 1 glass of vinegar
• 3 glasses of water
• 1 kg of sugar
• The juice of 2 lemons
• 4 tablespoons of rose water (or 1 teaspoon of cardamom powder)

PREPARATION
Wash and remove the core and seeds from the apples, leaving them whole using the appropriate tool (do not remove the stalk, however). Arrange them in a basin covering them with water in which you will have poured the vinegar so as not to darken them. One by one peel them. Place the peeled apples and 3 glasses of water in a high-sided saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and boil with the lid on for about 30-35 'until the apples are cooked (but with the pulp still well intact). Separate the apples from their cooking liquid with a slotted spoon, which you will leave on the fire. Pour in the sugar and cook over medium heat for 10-15 '. Add the lemon juice, cardamom or rose water and apples to the syrup, continuing to cook gently for another 15 ', at least until the syrup begins to thicken. When dipping a teaspoon the syrup sticks to it, remove the pot from the heat and let the apples and the syrup cool. Pour the apples with abundant syrup into well cleaned and dry glass jars with a wide bottom.
Variations:
Using 1 kg of ripe pears instead of apples and keeping the rest of the ingredients and the method of preparation unchanged, you get a tasty pear preserve (morabba ye golabi). Cardamom is more suitable for pears, while rose water is more suitable for apples.