Learn all about where Gala apples are grown and when they are in peak season. We answer what are the best times to enjoy one of the most popular apples and where you may be able to pick them yourself. And I can't forget to share what recipes that they are good in.
🍎 What You Are About to Learn
Did you know that in volume of apples grown in the United States, the Gala apple is number 1 (according to a report in the PR Newsire). In recent years it took over for the Red Delicious apple which has been on a decline for quite some time.
What people love about the Gala apple is it's sweet flavor and pretty skin. That same report says they are also one of the cheaper apples going for around $1.67/lb on average.
Let me share with you everything that I know about this popular apple variety.
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📜 The History of Gala
There are two people that we can thank for having our Gala apple - J.H. Kidd and Donald McKenzie.
- In 1930s New Zealand, J.H Kidd cross together a Golden Delicious apple and a Kidd's Orange Red. The Gala apple was one of the results of this cross.
- In 1974, Donald McKenzie from Stark Bros Nursery got a patent on the apple in the United States.
Ever since then this apple has made it's way up the charts to it's position now as our top apple by volume.
🌳 Different Strains of Gala
As time has gone on there have been different strains have Gala that have been released. These strains are different enough to be considered new varieties. A lot of them focus on the color of the fruit, getting a pretty red color. That's what catches people's eye at the grocery store. Also some of these may ripen earlier, giving the grower access to Gala apples sooner.
To give you an idea of what's out there, here are the strains that I have heard of:
- Wildfire
- Annaglo
- Galaxy
- Gale
- Regala
- Tenroy
- Mondial Gala
- Royal Gala
- Buckeye
- Crimson
What does this mean for me? For the average person you aren't going to hear of these strains really unless you are buying a tree or an orchard happens to mention it. I heard a lot of about them from following different orchards on LinkedIN. In the grocery store they are all going to be Gala apples.
As part of my newsletter series What Apple to Eat Today on Substack I talked about the different strains of Gala.
🇺🇸 What States Grow Them
To showcase how widely grown this apple is below you find a list of states where Gala apples are grown. Each state comes with an example of an orchard that grows them in that state. Check with the individual orchard to see if you can pick them yourself.
| Alabama | Crow Mountain Orchard |
| Arizona | Apple Annie's Orchard |
| Arkansas | Collins Round Mountain Orchard |
| California | Fair Hills Farm |
| Colorado | Wag's World Orchard |
| Connecticut | Roger's Orchard |
| Delaware | T.S. Smith & Sons |
| Georgia | Jaemor Farms |
| Idaho | Cabelo's Orchard |
| Illinois | Nichols Farm & Orchard |
| Indiana | Anderson Orchard |
| Iowa | Deal's Orchard |
| Kansas | Sunflower Orchards |
| Kentucky | Reed Valley Orchard |
| Maine | Kelly Orchard |
| Maryland | Catoctin Mountain Orchard |
| Massachusetts | Tougas Family Farm |
| Michigan | Fruit Acres Farm |
| Minnesota | Aamodt's Apple Farm |
| Missouri | Schweizer Orchard |
| Montana | Swanson's Mountain View Orchards |
| Nebraska | Kimmel Orchard |
| Nevada | The Apple Basket |
| New Hampshire | DeMeritt Hill Farm |
| New Jersey | Alstede Farms |
| New Mexico | Nichols Ranch and Orchards |
| New York | LynOaken Farms |
| North Carolina | Mountain Fresh Orchards |
| Ohio | Johnston Fruit Farm |
| Oregon | Detering Orchards |
| Pennsylvania | Weaver's Orchard |
| Rhode Island | Barden Family Orchard |
| South Carolina | Brysons Apple Orchrd |
| South Dakota | Hoversten Orchard |
| Tennessee | Roan Highlands Farm |
| Texas | Love Creek Orchards |
| Utah | Pyne Farms |
| Vermont | Champlain Orchards |
| Virginia | Carter Mountain Orchard |
| Washington | Gebbers Farm |
| West Virginia | Turkey Knob Growers |
| Wisconsin | Door Creek Orchard |
I was able to locate an apple orchard that grows Gala apples in 42 states. The exceptions were either too far north like Alaska or too hot like Florida and Hawaii.
👨👧👧 What My Family Thinks? - They are a hit or miss apple in my family. I have one daugther who loves them when they are fresh off the tree. My oldest likes more tart apples and when I asked her for this post what she thinks of it, the look on her face is one of digust!
🌞 When in Season?
Gala apples are available year round. With advanced refrigeration systems and imports in the summer, you can pretty much go to a the store anytime of year and find Galas. However the quality of those Galas will not be the same throughout the year. So there really is a season for them in which to enjoy them at their peak.
⛰️ Peak Season
There was two seasons in which to watch out for - domestic and imported.
The domestic season kicks off in late August/early September.
California grown Galas are the first to hit the market to kick off the season. California while being tops in lots of types of tree fruit aren't nearly as big a player in the apple industry. You may find a few California Galas but Washington is by far the number 1 producer of Gala apples and apples overall in the United States.
If you live in an apple producing state and most states do produce apple for commercial sales, you will should find your local Galas in stores and farmer's market during this time.
Around the middle of September you will find the most flavorful, sweet, and crisp Galas for the entire year. This is when you want to buy big. Organic is available at this time as well. You should also find sales of Galas in September.
📣 Hear This - the best Gala apple you are going to eat is a perfectly ripe at it's peak Gala apple right off the tree. For me it's the only way I like to enjoy them for out of hand eating. I picked apples at an orchard in Michigan one September and got to try plenty off the tree. My family and I also picked Gala at an orchard in Utah. The crispiness and the sweet flavor is best fresh and it's an apple that if you like them from the store, you must try to pick one yourself and eat it as fresh as you can get at least once in your life!
👎 Quality Decline
From there things go down hill, but it's more of a gentle decline. You can still find good Galas in October, even November. But I am dropping the word "great" from the conversation.
As time goes on, the crispiness of the apple declines. They don't get as mealy as say a McIntosh apple does in time, but they lose that bite. Time doesn't really do the flavor any favors either. Even thought you will see them in the store still, during the cold winter months I would look for other apples to buy as the flavor just isn't there. They can be down right bland.
I have heard some people say that their grandparents would rolling around in their grave if they knew were selling Gala apples year round. They just don't cut it 24/7/365.
🇳🇿 New Zealand
As I talked about as the top of this post, Galas apple are from New Zealand. You may see some Gala apples imported from New Zealand end up in American grocery stores.
New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, hence their "September" would be our March. If you got a New Zealand grown Gala in March you might get something close to that September peak in quality.
Here is where the problem lies. There are enough American grown Galas in cold storage to last us almost to the start of the new season. It's not until the heart of summer until you find Galas from New Zealand in stores, maybe a little earlier for organic. Those have been in cold storage for months, so again the quality is not at peak. These ones will seem to be better than the older domestic Galas they just replaced.
🍬 Is Gala the Sweetest Apple
How did we judge the sweetness of an apple. One way might be measuring the apple's brix level.
Definition of brix - Refers to a scale of measurement for soluble solids in a liquid. In the juices of fruits and vegetables, soluble solids are mostly sugars, and the Brix measurement approximates the sugar content of a sample (Dave Wilson Nursey)
However that may not be the best option for determining whether we are going to bite into an apple and say it's sweet. An apple that has a high brix is this apple:
Gala apples have a brix around 12 (see this Penn State report). The Dolgo crap apple I saw people sharing reports of the measuring over 20. But that crap apple contains lots of acid as well. When you bite into even if the sugar content is higher, the acidity you are facing is going to tell your brain you are eating a tart apple!
So I think sweetness is measured in not only how much sugars the apple contains but also how acidic it is. This is why when I rate apples I list sweetness and acidic as two separate scores, It's not a range of sweet to acidic.
Gala is one of the sweetest apples you can find. But not the sweetest. In charts, you often find Fuji to be listed ahead of Gala and I can agree with that. I once had an apple called Pink Sugar that ranked a 0 on the acidity scale and that apple was absolutely awful. No flavor just sweetness. A peak Gala will be sweet but still have great flavor.
What Recipes are Best to Use It In
I love using Gala apples in recipes where I am not adding any additional sugar. Applesauce, apple butter, and dried apples chips are three great ways to use up a lot of Gala apples. I often use Gala apples mixed with other apples to make a very well balanced applesauce. That works the same when pressing apple cider or making apple juice.
As for baking when I am added sugar for things like pies and cobblers, I don't want to use Gala apples, I want to use an apple that is mort tart tasting.
🤔What do you think of Gala apples? Do you like them or are they not your thing? Have you ever had a fresh picked Gala rigtht off the tree? Share all your Gala apple eating experience by leaving a comment below. I would love to hear from you!
Merritta
I just love Gala Apples. They have that it factor (sweet & juicy). 😍
Eric Samuelson
Glad you liked them and hope you can get some really fresh ones right off the tree this season!