Origin New Zealand, 1930s Higher classification Apple | Scientific name Malus domestica 'Gala' Rank Cultivar | |
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Hybrid parentage 'Kidd's Orange Red' × 'Golden Delicious' Similar Golden Delicious, Apple, Braeburn, Jonagold, Red Delicious | ||
'Gala' is a clonally propagated apple cultivar with a mild and sweet flavor. 'Gala' apples ranked at number 2 in 2006 on the US Apple Association's list of most popular apples, after 'Red Delicious' and before 'Golden Delicious', 'Granny Smith', and 'Fuji' (in order). The skin color of the fruit is non-uniform.
Contents
- Appearance and flavor
- History
- Sports mutations
- Descendent cultivars
- Season
- Royal Gala cultigen
- Storage
- Listeria
- References
Appearance and flavor
Gala apples are vertically striped or mottled, overall orange in colour. Gala apples are sweet, fine textured, and aromatic, and can be added to salads or cooked, and are especially suitable for creating sauces.
History
The first Gala apple tree was one of many seedlings resulting from a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Kidd's Orange Red planted in New Zealand in the 1930s by orchardist J.H. Kidd. Donald W. McKenzie, an employee of Stark Bros Nursery, obtained a US plant patent for the cultivar on October 15, 1974. It is a relatively new introduction to the UK, first planted in commercial volumes during the 1980s. The variety now represents about 20% of the total volume of the commercial production of eating apples grown in the UK, often replacing Cox's Orange Pippin.
Sports (mutations)
Many sports of Gala have been selected, mostly for increased red color, including the popular Royal Gala. The original cultivar produced fruit with orange stripes and a partial orange blush over a yellow background. Since then, several un-patented sports have been recognized. Additionally, more than twenty sports have received US plant patents:
Unpatented varieties include: Auvil, Imperial
Descendent cultivar(s)
Season
Gala apples are grown from May through September in the northern hemisphere, but, like most apples, are available almost all year through the use of cold storage and controlled atmosphere storage. Australian Gala are available from late January. California fruit is available until October. While the season usually lasts only 9 or 10 months, they are able to last all year round. However, due to some apples continuing to be grown in some orchards, and the fact that they can be refrigerated for some months, leads to the availability of the Gala apple year-round in some Australian markets. These usually taste different (slightly less sweet) from those in season. The UK season begins in late summer (August). Storage makes the UK fruit available nearly year-round as with fruit from other origins.
Royal Gala cultigen
Royal Gala is a cultigen made from a redder sport of the Gala apple in the 1970s. It is a pink-red dessert apple and is therefore usually eaten fresh. Royal Galas are usually harvested in early to late February in the southern hemisphere. In New Zealand the pinker original Gala has almost disappeared as a commercial apple in favour of the darker skinned Royal cultigen.
Storage
The optimum temperature for storing apples is between −1° and 1 °C (30 to 34 °F), and the optimum relative humidity is 90 to 95%. Ethylene gas can speed ripening and spoilage and reduce firmness of apples, as with many other fruit.
Listeria
In the beginning of 2015, Royal Gala and Granny Smith apples from the United States were identified as the likely cause of a Listeriosis outbreak. Listeria is a bacterium that can cause nausea, vomiting, headaches, neck stiffness, and can be dangerous to people with deficient immune systems.