Vanilla Applesauce recipe for Tigress' Can Jam, November Edition #tigresscanjam

If you know me or read this blog at all, you'll know I'm kind of an apple geek. I'm really excited about all the different varieties and tend to eat quite a lot of them. I come by it honestly; my mom grew up not far from the original McIntosh tree in Dundela, Ontario.

I'm fond of making apple jelly, but since I've posted a few apple-based jelly recipes lately, I thought I'd do something different for the November edition of Tigress' Can Jam, featuring apples, as announced by the Cosmic Cowgirl. After pondering the possibilities, I decided on straight-up applesauce. I was considering one with cranberries or cardamom, but settled on a classic vanilla-cinnamon combination.

This project was a shopping Fail but a cooking Win. I had intended to flavour my applesauce with vanilla pods and cinnamon sticks, but when it came to the point, I and my neighbourhood shops were fresh out of them. Also, I had intended to go for the dependable default apple, the McIntosh, but (oddly) there were none in when I went to get them, so I used a mixture of Galas, Empires and Spartans instead. Nonetheless, I got a gentle, somewhat sweet applesauce that's great with hot porridge, which is what I was hoping for. Here's the recipe.

Vanilla Applesauce

Makes about 11 cups

• 8 pounds of apples (crisp, tart ones are best)
• 3 cups of water
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup of sugar (optional)
• ¼ cup of lemon juice

1. Wash and sterilize jars and lids.
2. Wash, quarter and core the apples, but do not peel them.
3. In a large pot, combine the apples, water, cinnamon and vanilla, heat them to a boil and cook them over medium heat until the apples have broken down (about 30 minutes). Stir and mash them from time to time to help them along.
4. Put the apple mixture through a coarse strainer to remove skins and break down the pulp further.
5. Return the mixture to the pot and add the sugar and lemon juice.
6. Cook over medium heat until the sugar is well dissolved and the mixture is as smooth as you like it.
7. Ladle into sterilized jars and process in boiling water for 20 minutes.

Incidentally, I had intended to post more photos, including one of a bowl of hot Red River Cereal with yogurt and applesauce, but this month's Can Jam entry was also a photography Fail, as it turns out, so we will all have to be content with the sort-of-painterly shot of my sink full of apples.