Celestial surprise

I don't always do the greatest job of keeping track of my apple acquisitions. So it was this morning, when I found my last Celestia apple in a bag in my fruit bin.

It was past its prime but still quite good, with strong rich flavors that had matured in storage.

This apple was picked in early October and has enjoyed only conventional storage in my refrigerator. It's one of those apples that tends towards rubbery rather than mealy, and the texture was still in the enjoyable range.

Celestia's flavors had also bloomed into something richer and headier than the fine tastes of October. Also present was the almond note that sometimes crops up in apples that have been sitting in storage for too long.

I had no inkling of Celestia as a keeper, but the next time I find this apple I will save some out deliberately and try to calibrate its flavor trajectory over time.

My guess is that December and January might be the best time to enjoy this variety.