Black watermelon sells for $6,100

by Emily Matchar, Posted Jun 14th 2008 @ 5:00PM

A black watermelon fetched $6,100 at a Japanese auction on Friday, making it one of the most expensive melons ever sold.

The 17-pound black-skinned "Densuke" watermelon drew the unusually high price or its rare color. It is said to have an extraordinarily delicate taste and perfume. The purchase came on the heels of another record fruit auction - a pair of cantaloupes went for $23,500 last month.

In Japan, where specially cultivated "gift fruits" are given as presents and tokens of respect, melons usually retail for upwards of $100. These special fruits are grown in air-conditioned greenhouses lined with rich soil. Growers only allow three melons to grow on each plant, and when the baby melons are the size of a fist, two are chopped off to allow the best one to suck all the nourishment from the vine. The "perfect" melon is then wrapped in fine tissue papers and sold in a carved wooden box. A gift pear can cost $40, 10 ounces of cultivated winter cherries might sell for $400.

Yes, there are regular fruits too. A conventionally grown melon might retail for $5.

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Tags: asia, densuke, fruit, japan, oddities, watermelon