Across the world, mostly Japan are fruits grown to perfection but command a high price.
On this episode we’ll take a look at some of the most expensive fruits ever grown.
The Japanese crown melon only grown in Shizuoka prefecture is a $200 melon.
These melons are grown in specific conditions, raised beds off the ground in a greenhouse
allows them to grow and harvest them year-round.
100 days from seed to harvest each melon is tended to daily.
They are cleaned and dusted, given newspaper hats to shield them from the sun and the raised
beds control exactly how much water they receive.
There are 20 different varieties of crown melons and each melon must fall into a one
of four grades: fuji, yama, shiro and yuki.
Yuki contains melons with minor defects, the remaining three grades depend on the sugar
content of the melon.
55% of the melons fall into shiro grade, 25% yama and 1 in 1000 or 0.1% are graded fuji.
Each plant grows only 1 fruit, initially, there are multiple but all but a couple are
cut off.
Of the remaining few the best is selected to fully develop.
As the fruit develops, a net pattern appears on the outside of the melon, this pattern
depending on how perfect is can drive the price up significantly.
Each melon has water poured over it by hand and is wrapped in white paper to help the
development of this pattern.
After being polished by hand with white gloves the crown melon is ready for auction.
Being juicy and sweet with a unique yellow flesh inside, these melons are not only important
in Japan’s gift-giving culture but are an exquisite fruit to eat.
The highest any of these have sold is $45,000 to a fuji grade or perfect crown melon.
Coming from northern Japan on the island of Hokkaido is the Yubari King Melon.
This hybrid orange-fleshed melon is prized for it’s sweetness.
Grown in volcanic soil in greenhouses with individual hats to protect them from sunburn
these melons also use the four grade system based on their sweetness.
Its recommended to consume these melons within 2 or 3 days of harvesting.
Typically costing $225 for a pair of these melons, in 2017 a pair of them sold at auction
for $27,000.
The square watermelon a staple of Japanese culture are given as fancy gifts.
These watermelons are grown in a box to maintain their square shape and are often harvested
unripe so they keep longer for when they are given as a gift.
The idea is someone will keep it on display in their home so being unripe will make them
last a great deal longer.
This watermelon was invented in 1978 by graphic designer Tomoyuki Ono.
The idea is that they’d be able to fit snugly in the fridge and wouldn’t roll when trying
to cut them.
They usually sell for around $83 but not usually more than $100.
With that said one did sell for $800 at auction which isn’t all that uncommon as the best
fruits will command drastically higher prices at auction.
Other shapes have been grown like hearts and pyramids as we see here.
While primarily a Japanese tradition, these watermelons can be found these days in Germany
as well.
Only grown in Hokkaido Japan the Densuke or sometimes called black watermelon is known
not for its dark outer color but it’s incredibly sweet taste.
A single melon will go for around $250 if its an average melon, premium melons have
sold for $4500 and even $6000.
These high price tags are achieved at a fruit auction in June and sold to the highest bidder.
These melons can also but purchased online if finding them in-store proves to be a challenge.
Developed in Japan, we are seeing a pattern here, in 1972 the dekopon is a hybrid between
Kiyomi and ponkan.
A kiyomi is a hybrid of a Miyagawa Wase mikan or easy peeling tangerine and an orange where
the ponkan is a high yielding citrus the size of an orange that is a hybrid of mandarin
and pomelo.
The resulting cultivated fruit the dekopon is this seedless variety of mandarin orange
with its iconic nob on top.
Likely named deko meaning convex in regards to the bump on top and pon one of the varieties
as just mentioned that is mixed to create this fruit.
Originally any fruit coming from Kumamoto was trademarked dekopon so fruits from other
regions would have an altered name like himepon from ehime prefecture or hiropon from Hiroshima
prefecture.
After a fee was agreed to be paid they were all renamed to just dekopon.
Because of its bump on top and failure to reduce the acidity of the fruit the dekopon
was never awarded an agricultural registration number.
Grown in greenhouses to ensure a constant temperature the dekopon is harvested from
December to February during Japan’s winter.
They are harvested and left for up to 40 days for the citric acid levels to drop and the
sugars to increase.
Getting the citric acid and sugar levels right is needed to be able to sell them under the
name dekopon.
This fruit isn’t just available in Japan but in Brazil as well where it is called Kinsei.
Brazillian farmers were able to successfully grow this citrus in the highlands of Sao Paulo
state thanks to the help of Japanese farmer Unkichi Taniwaki.
Instead of costing $72 for 6 fruits in Japan they sell for $0.50 each in Brazil.
They are now being grown in California in the United States as well which in the commercial
market in 2011 un the name Sumo Citrus.
Next up we have a pineapple from the Lost Garden of Heligan.
What is this place and what does it have to do with pineapples you might ask, it goes
back to the pineapple pit of the Victorian era.
The pineapple pit a method of growing pineapples developed during that time that is being resurrected
in recent times.
3 trenches covered in glass, all below ground, provides an environment where it is possible
to grow pineapples in cold climates.
This was done back in the Victorian Era as pineapples were seen as a food of the rich,
it was a symbol of wealth and royalty to have a pineapple on the dinner table.
The invention of the steamship made the pineapple pit obsolete in a handful of years.
The first pineapple pit discovered was at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in the UK.
It was renovated in 1993 and put back into use.
2 varieties of south African pineapples are grown here the Jamaica Queen and Smooth Cayenne
a pineapple first brought to Britain in 1819.
In 1997 Prince Charles paid a visit to check out the pineapples while they were budding.
The first pineapple pulled out of the pit after the renovation was in 1997, the first
one was tasted and checked just to make sure it didn’t taste of manure, the 2nd pineapple
harvested was given to Queen Elizabeth II for her 50th anniversary on the throne.
Wait what manure you might ask?
Well normally it takes two years to grow a pineapple but growing a pineapple in England
though took 5 years to develop the plant and an additional 2 years to develop the fruit.
Grown under straw, along with manure and horse urine or in Victorian style these pineapples
grown in Cornwall England, don’t actually come in contact with the waste materials if
you were wondering.
It is very labor-intensive to grow one of these pineapples around 1600 in cost alone
and if it were to go to market it would fetch around $17,000.
With this said though these pineapples aren’t sold to the public but instead are shared
among the staff who works so hard to grow them.
Over 30 tonnes of horse manure are barrowed into the garden, the manure keeps the greenhouse
warm through the winter maintaining a temperature of 52 Fahrenheit or 11 degrees Celcius to
75 Fahrenheit or 24 degrees Celsius throughout the year.
How this works, there are trenches around the growing pit with holes going out to the
trenches.
As the horse manure decomposes in the trenches it releases heat through the holes into the
pineapple pit simulating a tropical environment.
What makes growing these pineapples so expensive such as the one grown in 2010 at a cost of
$17,318 is the fact the manure needs to be continually shoveled out and replaced with
fresh manure to keep the transfer of heat into the pit constant.
Also, the fact it took 5 years to grow one would have something to do with this price
tag.
The Sekai-ichi Apple an extremely large apple, a modern Japanese variety that is a cross
between golden delicious and red delicious is perfectly round and can weigh up to 2 lbs
or almost a kg.
First bred in Morioka Japan and introduced to the public market in 1974, today they are
grown in the Aomori prefecture which is the main region apples have been grown since 1875.
Today half of the Japanese apples are grown there with many of them being exported around
the world.
The name Sekai Ichi means the best in the world in Japanese, a typical price for one
apple is around $20.
Each fruit is hand-pollinated and is washed in honey.
Appearing pinkish with a red blush, this apple with a sweet aroma offers a juicy, crisp firm
bite, is sweet and mild with little to no tartness.
Available in the fall and into the winter the trees require constant attention by gardeners
throughout the growing season.
High in vitamin c and fiber, being such a large apple these apples are packed full of
fiber and are very filling.
The sekai-ichi apples boost the immune system and contain a healthy source of potassium
which is found along with most of the nutrients within the peel or just under the peel so
eating the whole apple is recommended for the maximum health benefits.
Being a tasty firm apple these apples are mostly consumed raw instead of baked or cooked.
They keep for 3 to 4 months if stored in a cool or dry location.
They pair well with blackberries, citrus and pears and are sometimes dressed up with caramel
or honey.
A royal name for some expensive grapes the Ruby Roman Grapes were named this by public
vote in 2008.
These table grapes are grown and marketed entirely in Ishikawa Prefecture Japan.
These grapes much like the Sekai Ichi apples are enormous compared to normal-sized ones.
Measuring about the size of a ping pong ball the Ruby Roman Grapes went on sale for the
first time in 2008 for $910 which works out to be $26 per grape.
Being the most expensive grapes in the world, in July 2016 a single bunch of them with 26
grapes weighing 700 grams sold for 1.1 million yen or about $8400.
This was sold in 2016’s first auction of the grapes at a wholesale market in Kanazawa.
What makes grapes so expensive?
Every grape is individually checked for excellence and quality, after passing inspection they
receive a certification seal signally they meet the strict standards.
There are strict rules to sell ruby roman grapes, each grape must weigh over 20g and
contain over 18% sugar.
There is a tier up called the premium class which each grape must weigh 30g and the entire
bunch weighs at least 700g.
Under this criteria, some years won’t have any premium class grapes available such as
in 2011 but in comparison in 2010, 6 grape bunches met the guidelines.
These grapes are sweet juicy and taste… like a grape.
The general consensus is they don’t taste all that much different than normal delicious
tasting grapes.
Finally the Egg of the Sun Mango, this mango grown in Miyazaki prefecture, Japan is a premium
mango variety, known as Irwin that has been quite commonly grown in Florida since the
1940s.
These mangoes can be bought for only a few dollars from a roadside fruit stand in Miami.
The mangoes grown in Japan receive extra attention throughout its grown cycle.
Each mango is individually attended to with each getting a small net that redirects light
to hit the skin at all angles giving the mango a perfect uniform ruby red color.
Each mango gets a personal cushion to catch it when it falls, the reason for this is when
picked mangoes along with many other fruits they haven’t fully developed and may end
up being not as sweet as they could be.
Fruit that falls off the tree only does so at premium ripeness and sugar development.
The egg of the sun mango is highly juicy with minimal fibrous material, they are sweet and
tart with coconut, pineapple overtones.
Not only are these mangoes delicious, but they are also apart of Japanese perishable
gift culture.
If you were wondering why so many of these expensive fruits come from Japan they are
expensive gifts given which is woven into Japanese culture.
These expensive fruits are found in high-end department stores and upscale grocery stores
in high ticket fruit sections.
A record breaking sale of two of them sold for $3744 at a Japanese wholesale auction.
See if you can get this episode’s riddle “The leaves are on the fruit, The fruit
is on the leaves.
What am I?”