The Crow Melons are the most expensive in the world. Up to 25,000 euros have been paid for a melon of this specialty grown in Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture. Their care and conditions make them special. They even receive daily massages for sugar to be evenly distributed. What makes them treasures is their mellow flavor, which melts in the mouth, and the abundance of water. Its exterior appearance and stem also take care of itself as if it were a work of art.
Other characteristics that make them unique is that for each tree a single melon is allowed to grow, which receives all the nutrients of the tree and delicate individual cares. Humidity determines sweetness and flavor, and a small error can spoil its appearance and qualities. In Shizuoka, one of the places with the most hours of light in Japan, the perfect conditions are given for cultivation and there are 240 farmers and almost 2,000 greenhouses, about half of them in Fukuroi. Each melon has a sticker that identifies, with a number, the farm from which it comes.
The Crow melons are divided into four groups: Fuji, Yama, Shiro, and Yuqui. The Fujis, named after Mount Fuji, are the most appreciated and 0.1 of production. The Yama are 25% of the production, the Shiro, 55%, and the Yuqui can have any defect, however small. Between the Fuji and the Yama, there is no stock, they can only be obtained on request and their prices are the most expensive.
The cost of the product must be added to that of refrigerated transport without cold chain breakage, strict sanitary controls, and a very small time margin for its consumption in optimal condition: the melon must be served between 10 and 15 days of the harvest date. All this makes it very difficult to consume it outside Japan. It is located in Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Malaysia, and now also in Spain, at the Pilar Akaneya restaurant in Madrid.