USA TODAY spoke with apple breeders, growers and researchers to find the secrets of one of America's most popular fruits.

Gala is an apple cultivar with a sweet, mild flavor, a crisp but not hard texture, and a striped or mottled orange or reddish appearance. Originating from New Zealand in the 1930s, similar to most ...

Each fall, the Coronado Schools Foundation (CSF) organizes a benefit auction and gala to raise funds for the public schools in Coronado.

It was only in the 1980s that more apple varieties began to be consistently available nationwide. The Granny Smith from Australia and the Gala from New Zealand became available in the 1970s.

He says, “The demand for premium variety apples has increased over the past few years dramatically.” The grocery chain’s most popular specialty varieties are Honeycrisp, Gala and Fuji.