The lemon melon was bred in Japan

You’ve probably heard about Japan’s wild fruit market, where a single bunch of grapes can cost over 10,000 yen (US$69). But those prices are not for any fruit; they’re for luxury Japanese fruit that has been carefully hand-raised and specially bred to not only thrive in the Japanese environment but also be as pleasurable as possible in both taste and texture.

So when we heard that Hokkaido farmers have produced an entirely new fruit that is round, juicy, and sweet like a melon but slightly sour like a lemon, we couldn’t help how our mouths watered.

The new fruit is, fittingly, called the Lemon Melon, and is currently being cultivated in limited quantities by five farmers in the city of Furano, Hokkaido. While it has the same shape as a watermelon, the rind lacks the familiar stripes, and the inside is white.

Suntory Flowers, the Japanese horticulture company that developed the Lemon Melon, said they bred it from a type of melon originally imported from overseas, which they have been working to improve over the last five years. The current product, which is blended with lemons, is the result of countless experiments on cultivation methods and harvest times, and this is the first year that they are able to sell them.

At one supermarket, Lemon Melons were selling for 3,218 yen each. In the video above, those who were able to try some samples said:

“It’s really refreshing. I like it.”
“It has a good balance of sweet and sour. It would be the perfect fruit for a hot day. Can I try another one?”

A reporter from HBC News who tried it added:

“It has a faint sourness like a lemon, but the strong sweetness of a melon. It’s delicious.”

Apparently, the texture of the Lemon Melon starts out crisp like a pear, but as the fruit ripens, it gets much softer, like Hokkaido-grown Yubari melons, so there are several different ways to enjoy it.

This year, producers are expecting to cultivate about 3,800 Lemon Melons, which will be sold in Sapporo supermarkets through the end of August. They’re hoping they’ll become a new addition to Japan’s luxury fruit market, so if you love to try expensive fruits like specially bred-pears and fancy cherries, definitely give it a try!

Tags: melon