Reinette Clochard in December

I've tasted Reinette Clochard only once before and was mightily impressed with it. ¶

Time for a second bite.

Today's Clouchard is large (though on the smaller end of that range) and yellow, with faint green-tinted vertical stripes.

The stripes call to mind those of an Ananas Reinette.

There is a small, faint orange blushed area (facing the camera in my photo) near a curious small dark spot (upper right).

The spot shows a good bit darker in the photograph for some reason.

Appraisal before appetite

My apple is ribbed and the peel is matte to satin, not glossy. The lenticel dots are quite tiny unless filled in with russet or other dark matter (which many of them are). There are also specks of russet.

In storage for (probably) more than a month, this apple has a sweet cidery aroma and also a whiff of cheese, suggesting peel fauna. There is only a tiny spot of flyspeck near the base (not shown).

The whole thing is a little lopsided, though you can't see that in the photograph either.

Let's eat

In early December the Clochard is okay to eat but well past its prime. Its off-white flesh, though palatable, is clearly on the way to mealy, and its flavors are muddled though pleasant.

There is some cane sugar and a hint of vanilla, and a bit of orange in the finish. The sweet-tart balance is very good, and these flavors are promising.

Still, I couldn't recommend this apple as highly as I do based on this tasting alone.

That is not a knock against this apple, just an unremarkable example of how what is good in October is not likely to keep very well into December.

Fortunately I had a better Clochard in 2017.

It's worth reading my Reinette Clochard review of that sample to get the full measure of this apple: the Clochard is excellent and its flavors are both complex and pleasing.

Oh, and the tiny dark area in today's photo corresponds to a shallow decayed bit of flesh, perhaps a bruise or else an infection or invasion that never really got going.

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