Reinette
AppleReinette
Origin / History
The term Reinette, as designating a certain class of apples, has been introduced into English from the French. Leroy tells us that French horticultural literature shows that the word has been in use about four hundred years. Starting in with only one variety of this name the number has gradually increased until to-day there are several hundred. Leroy thinks they are all descended from the original variety, the Reinette franche or Reinette Blanche, which is the French Reinette of Downing. The derivation of the word is a disputed point, certain etymologists holding that it is the diminutive form of Reine, or queen, and others thinking that it is a corruption of Rainet, a colloquial French word meaning a small frog. While European pomologists speak of the Reinettes as a distinct type, an examination of the technical descriptions of the various Reinettes does not show that they have any constant characters which are in any way peculiar to themselves.
Diel gives the following eight characters by which Reinettes can be recognized: "1. They have a fine-grained, delicate, crisp, firm flesh. 2. They are mostly the ideal of a handsomely shaped apple; in them the convexity or bulge of the middle of the apple towards the eye is the same as that towards the stalk, or not much different. 3. They are all gray dotted, or have russety patches, or completely covered with russet. 4. They have rarely an unctuous skin. 5. They have all the rich, aromatic, sugary, and brisk flavor, which is called the Reinette flavor. 6. They decay very readily, and must, of all apples, hang longest on the tree. 7. The really sweet and at the same time aromatic apples belong to the Reinettes, only as regards their shape, their character, and their fine and firm flesh. 8. Apples with fine, firm, crisp flesh, which cannot of themselves form a distinct class; for instance, the Pippins belong to this class."
Diel's classification is evidently an arbitrary one, and it differs in spirit at least from Leroy's conception that the Reinettes represent one family descended from a single original variety.
Tree
Not described in source.
Fruit
Size: Not described in source.
Form: Mostly the ideal of a handsomely shaped apple; the convexity or bulge of the middle of the apple towards the eye is the same as that towards the stalk, or not much different.
Stem: Not described in source.
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: Not described in source.
Basin: Not described in source.
Skin: Rarely an unctuous skin. Gray dotted, or with russety patches, or completely covered with russet.
Dots: Gray dotted.
Flesh and flavor: Fine-grained, delicate, crisp, firm flesh. Rich, aromatic, sugary, and brisk flavor, called the Reinette flavor. The really sweet and at the same time aromatic apples belong to the Reinettes, only as regards their shape, their character, and their fine and firm flesh.
Core and seeds: Not described in source.
Season
They decay very readily, and must, of all apples, hang longest on the tree.
Uses
Not described in source.
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Leroy, 1873: 614; Downing, 1869: 184.
Book Sources
Described in 1 period pomological work
View original book sources (1)
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 1 (1905)REINETTE.
The term Reinette, as designating a certain class of apples, has been introduced into English from the French. Leroy¹ tells us that French horticultural literature shows that the word has been in use about four hundred years. Starting in with only one variety of this name the number has gradually increased until to-day there are several hundred. Leroy thinks they are all descended from the original variety, the Reinette franche or Reinette Blanche, which is the French Reinette of Downing.² The derivation of the word is a disputed point, certain etymologists holding that it is the diminutive form of Reine, or queen, and others thinking that it is a corruption of Rainet, a colloquial French word meaning a small frog. While European pomologists speak of the Reinettes as a distinct type, an examination of the technical descriptions of the various ¹ Leroy, 1873: 614. ² Downing, 1869: 184.
Reinettes does not show that they have any constant characters which are in any way peculiar to themselves. Diel gives the following eight characters by which Reinettes can be recognized:
"1. They have a fine-grained, delicate, crisp, firm flesh. "2. They are mostly the ideal of a handsomely shaped apple; in them the convexity or bulge of the middle of the apple towards the eye is the same as that towards the stalk, or not much different. "3. They are all gray dotted, or have russety patches, or completely covered with russet. "4. They have rarely an unctuous skin. "5. They have all the rich, aromatic, sugary, and brisk flavor, which is called the Reinette flavor. "6. They decay very readily, and must, of all apples, hang longest on the tree. "7. The really sweet and at the same time aromatic apples belong to the Reinettes, only as regards their shape, their character, and their fine and firm flesh. "8. Apples with fine, firm, crisp flesh, which cannot of themselves form a distinct class; for instance, the Pippins belong to this class."
This classification of Diel is evidently an arbitrary one and differs in spirit at least from the conception of Leroy that the Reinettes represent one family descended from a single original variety.