Rolling In Fruit
Fast cars. Private Jets. A watermelon.
Fruit might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of "luxury," but if you want the best of the best, you can expect to shell out some serious dough.
From ghost white strawberries to $15,000 pineapples, these are the most expensive fruits in the world.
White Jewel Strawberries
Strawberries are one of the most popular fruits eaten in Japan, and the cream of the crop—quite literally—are the white jewel strawberries from Saga Prefecture.
What'll It Cost Me? $10 Each
Unlike some other varietals, white jewel strawberry flesh is white all the way through—but you'll have to pay up to $10 for just a single one of these incredibly unique berries.
Sekai Ichi Apples
A cross between the Red Delicious and Golden Delicious, Japanese Sekai Ichi apples are some of the biggest in the world, with an average circumference of over a foot.
What'll It Cost Me? $20 Each
Sekai Ichi means "world number one" in Japanese—so it's no surprise you'll have to pay up to $20 for just a single one of these red and pink striped apples.
Sakurai Midori, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Buddha-Shaped Pears
A single farmer in China, inspired by an old myth about a lucky fruit that grew in the shape of a Buddha, spent years perfecting the process to grow pears in the shape of Buddha.
What'll It Cost Me? $8 Each
Using custom Buddha molds, farmer Xianzhang Hao managed to grow 10,000 Buddha-shaped pears, and began selling his carefully-grown fruits out of his backyard for roughly $8 each.
You can find them elsewhere, but Hao's are the original.
Square Watermelon
The square watermelon was actually designed with practicality in mind: A Japanese graphic designer first developed them in 1978 so that they could be stored more efficiently in refrigerators.
What'll It Cost Me? $100 Each
The cost of making them ended up meaning these polyhedral fruits were a luxury more than a convenience: The process means each melon costs around $100.
Dekopon Citrus
Picture an enormous, sweet mandarin that weighs over a pound. You'd have a Dekopon, which is a beloved variety of Japanese mandarin grown all over Japan.
Walter Grassroot, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
What'll It Cost Me? $80 For Six
Dekopon are popular for their delicious taste and their size—they even go their own limited-time Hi-Chew flavor—but a six-pack of these luxury fruits will run you around $80.
ドミトリードンスコイ, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Taiyo No Tamago Mango
Grown in Miyazaki Prefecture, the Taiyo No Tamago Mango translates to "Egg of the Sun" Mango. Made from a regularly common cultivar of mango, the intense care with which these Japanese fruits are grown turns them into a work of art.
sanmai, Flickr
What'll It Cost Me? $50 Each (at least)
Taiyo No Tamago mangos are grown in a special net that allows sunlight to hit them evenly and gives them their incredibly smooth color. That's just part of why they start at around $50...and go up to $3,600.
NaturalBox, Shutterstock
Densuke Watermelon
With it's smooth, dark coloring, you might mistake the Densuke Watermelon for another fruit entirely. And it's not even square! But just take a bite and see what you think...
What'll It Cost Me? $250 Each
Don't be fooled by their strange look: The incredibly sweet and nearly seedless Densuke melons are considered by many to be the best in the world. The catch? $250 each.
Fabio Moreira Ferreira, Flickr
Ruby Roman Grapes
One look at a ping-pong ball-sized Ruby Roman grape and you can imagine why these would be considered the best grapes in the entire world.
Aw1805, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
What'll It Cost Me? $26 Per Grape (at least)
Only a very limited number of Ruby Roman grapes are grown every year, which means they can get extremely expensive. The first bunches sold for around $26 per grape, and they've since gone for over $300 per grape.
Lost Gardens of Heligan Pineapple
If you think it's difficult to grow tropical pineapples in England, you'd be right. That's why the only place they do it is at the Lost Gardens of Heligan.
David Adam Kess, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
What'll It Cost Me? $15,000 Each
As we said, growing pineapples in England is incredibly difficult, so the staff at the Lost Gardens value each pineapple at $15,000.
Yubari King Melon
A highly prized cultivar a melon grown only in greenhouses in the city of Yubari, Hokkaido, Japan, Yubari King melons are almost perfectly round, have an exceptionally sweet taste, and are each inspected to maintain the highest quality.
What'll It Cost Me? $300 Each
A particularly nice Yubari King will cost you up to $300—but in 2019, a record was set when two Yubari King were sold at auction for $45,000
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