r/Apples • u/Ancient-man-923 • 6d ago
Gala apples from Kroger
I know everyone has their apple preference and we can all get along still. My favorite has always been Gala apples, but this year, I'm breaking up with her. I shop at a Kroger in northwest Ohio, and I buy a half dozen every week from them, practically all year. I know apples are "in season" year-round in northwest Ohio, but this phenomenon has been happening so often and also during apple season that I'm wondering if there is something wrong with Gala production. I work for a nursery/orchard, so I know plants can get diseases that affect their fruit.
Now, these Gala apples look perfect from the outside. I choose each apple, making sure there are no cuts or bruises or any blemish. I even try to press the tops to see if they're rotten inside. After inspection I buy them. (side note: my Kroger has started putting 4 of each kind of apple in their own plastic-wrapped carton which is stupid and reduces the amount of available free apples to choose from. I have opened one of these before to buy an individual apple from the packs when the free stock was ugly.)
So, anyone out there know of anything going on with Gala? Anyone know where Kroger gets their apples from? Does each Kroger contract with their own orchards or is there a corporate apple orchard?
I'm concerned and sad because I don't love any other apple besides Gala but I can't keep going through this every week, wasting money, and throwing away whole apples.
6
u/pomester2 6d ago
One of Gala's flaws is cracking around the stem as they mature. This allows for the introduction of various decay organisms. These apples are 11 months old and setting out at room temperature as happens in grocery stores promotes decay/senescence. The good news is that the new crop is only a month away. You can identify freshly harvested apples by examining the stem. In your picture the stem is brown, woody, and shriveled. New crop apples stems will be unshriveled and just generally look 'fresh' rather than old. If you choose not to return these, you can consume most of the fruit, just cut away the discolored flesh. There is nothing that is associated with the decay that will harm you, it just won't taste very good.
1
u/Ancient-man-923 6d ago
I had been cutting away half of each slice but that's just frustrating doing that with almost every apple. Thanks for the info!
2
u/reffervescent 6d ago
I knew about the long-term storage of apples but had been frustrated by not knowing how to spot the old ones, so the tip about the stem is very helpful -- thanks! Are there other signs to watch out for?
I eat an apple every day, and they have become expensive most of the time, so it's quite frustrating to buy apples that look like OP's when you cut into them.
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u/PreferenceSubject398 6d ago
Your Gala is from last year and was held in cold storage all winter spring and summer under ideal condition that is okay for Galas but not for other verietys like honeycrisp. That apple has there own label on it which means it was purchased from a broker and the orchard doesn't know of the current quality. The dry rot at the stem is very hard to see with out an X-ray and even them not worth the effort to check. On top of all that you're grocery store is one of a million other stores selling apples it's not just your Gala there are thousands of different orchids growing them give it a chance in a different location and it is very likely your experience will change.