$30,000 For A Melon? The World's 20 Most Expensive Fruits
Forget Designer Handbags. What About Designer Fruit?
While most of us struggle with our grocery bills each month, the top one percent is spending half our entire year's salary on a piece of fruit. Yup, beyond the familiar aisles of apples and oranges, a world of extraordinary produce exists where price tags soar into the hundreds, thousands, and even tens of thousands of dollars for a single piece. The luxury fruit market is booming, particularly in places like Japan, where agricultural perfection is highly praised. In these places, farmers cultivate highly coveted specimens destined for prestigious auctions or specialty fruit purveyors with painstaking precision, discarding any that don't meet that golden standard. Here are the 20 most expensive fruits in the world.
1. Yubari King Melon
The "king of melons," the Yubari King melon, is a highly coveted hybrid cross between two types of cantaloupes. They're known for being exceptionally sweet, with complex tasting notes, and a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture. They can only be grown in one specific region of Japan, require delicate hand tending, and only one fruit grows per vine, making them extremely rare and fetching up to $30,000 per melon.
2. Ruby Roman Grapes
Ruby Roman grapes are the most expensive grape variety in the world, with a single bunch once fetching over $10,000 at auction. They're grown exclusively in the Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan and are renowned for their large size, deep red color, and exceptional sweetness. They require hand pollination and their production is limited, making them rare and expensive.
3. Densuke Watermelon
The Densuke watermelon stands out from regular watermelons primarily for its striking black rind. It's also intensely sweet, crisp, and requires a special terroir in Hokkaido, Japan. A particularly perfect, first-of-the-season specimen was sold for $6,100 in 2008, but even "run-of-the-mill" Densuke watermelons commonly sell for hundreds of dollars.
4. Taiyo no Tamago Mangoes
Taiyo no Tamago, which translates to egg of the sun in English, is the name for the highest quality Irwin mangoes cultivated under extremely strict conditions in Miyazaki, Japan. These mangoes are allowed to ripen fully on the tree, ensuring a perfectly even sweetness. To be classified as a Taiyo no Tamago and fetch the high price of $4,000 to $4,500 a pair, the mangoes have to meet a variety of rigorous criteria, including sugar content, color, and size.
5. Heligan Pineapple
The Heligan pineapple is unique for its growing location: the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall, England, an immaculately restored Victorian-era garden. The fruit is also grown using Victorian-era cultivation methods, which are incredibly labor-intensive and time-consuming. All that history would come at an astronomically high price of at least $1,300, but the pineapples are not typically sold and are instead shared among the gardening staff as a reward for all their hard work.
6. Square Watermelon
By placing a young melon into a square mold, farmers in Japan created the cubically shaped watermelon. It was initially developed by a graphic designer with the practical intent of creating a melon that's easier to store in the fridge, but its novel shape made it popular among collectors. One particularly perfect one sold for over $800, but the typical square melon fetches between $100 and $200.
7. Sembikiya Queen Strawberries
Sembikiya Queen strawberries are immediately noticeable for their perfect uniformity, with each berry boasting a deep crimson color all the way through, a shiny finish, and the exact same lovely, plump shape. They're cultivated with extreme care, and only the best make the cut. Sembikiya Queen brand strawberries fetch $80 to $100 for a box of 12.
8. Dekopon Oranges
In contrast to much of the other "designer" fruit on this list, Dekopon oranges aren't beautiful at all. They have a distinctive bump that was actually considered a flaw when they were first being developed, but they quickly became highly desired for their incredible flavor. These oranges are considered a luxury item in Japan and are often given as gifts, with a box of six to eight selling for $80 to $95.
9. Sekai Ichi Apples
Sekai Ichi (number one) apples are a cross between Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples grown in Japan. Cultivated primarily for their appearance, they're among the largest and most flawless-looking apples in the world. They sell for around $20 to $25 a pop, but particularly beautiful ones can even sell for more.
10. Buddha Shaped Pears
Buddha-shaped pears are ordinary pears that have been shaped to resemble a meditating Buddha figure. While they aren't remarkable in flavor, they're sought after as ornamental gifts in China, with one pear costing around $10.
11. White Jewel Strawberries
White Jewel strawberries are immediately recognizable for their strikingly pale exterior and flesh. Their white color isn't due to being unripe, but rather to their specific method of cultivation, which limits sun exposure. Coveted for their intriguing appearance and incredible sweetness, a single White Jewel strawberry can cost around $10 in Japan.
12. Cherimoya
The Cherimoya, also called "custard apple," is often considered one of the most delicious fruits on the planet, with a flavor profile described as a blend of vanilla, pineapple, mango, and banana with a creamy white flesh and shaped like a heart. A box of them can sell for over $120.
13. Kanyao Durian
Thailand's Kanyao durian is one of the most expensive varieties of durian, known for its creaminess, intense sweetness, and distinct appearance with its round shape and long stem. It requires a special terroir and intensive care to grow. A typical one costs anywhere from $550 to $1,100, but one once fetched $48,000 at auction, holding the world record for the most expensive fruit ever sold.
14. Black Sapote
The Black Sapote from Mexico and Central America, also called "chocolate pudding fruit," is a rather basic-looking green fruit, but the inside holds a delicious surprise. The brown, custardy flesh has a flavor similar to molasses, honey, or caramel, and a 3-pound box can sell for $70.
15. Japanese Persimmon
Japanese persimmons are unique for their exceptional taste and texture, selective pruning, and post-harvest treatment. Premium persimmons are often given as gifts in Japan, so they're typically flawless and consistent in appearance. A single, exceptionally beautiful one can sell for $200.
16. Miracle Berry
The Miracle Berry is known as the "flavor tripping" fruit for its ability to alter taste perception. It can make sour flavors register on your taste buds as extremely sweet. It's native to West Africa and is acquired for flavor tripping parties, with a pack containing five to 10 berries costing up to $30.
17. Gros Michel Banana
The Gros Michel banana is considered the OG banana, with banana flavoring in candies and extracts closely resembling its rich and sweet taste. It was the most common export variety in the early 20th century but was largely wiped out in the 1950s due to a fungus. Now it's fairly rare, only grown by small-scale farmers, and a few pounds can cost over $100.
18. Bijin-Hime Strawberries
Bijin-Hime (beautiful princess) strawberries are another rare and luxurious fruit from Japan. They're renowned for their huge size, flawless appearance, and extreme sweetness. A single one can sell for $350.
19. Shine Muscat Grapes
Shine Muscat grapes are a Japanese grape variety known for their distinct floral, honey-like aroma, thin skin, satisfying crispiness, large size, and exceptional beauty. They're highly prized in Japan, where they can fetch up to $200 for a few bunches.
20. Rubyglow Pineapple
The Rubyglow pineapple was developed by the Del Monte fruit company after 16 years of research in Costa Rica. The fruit, which is remarkable for its bright red exterior and exceptionally sweet flesh, was released last year as a limited edition luxury fruit option, selling for around $400 for a single one.
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