Chiho Murata and Ignasi Elias, the creators of the Pilar Akaneya sumibiyaki from Madrid, have brought the Crown Melon, one of the world's most exclusive melons, from Japan to Spain. The Crown Melon can cost more than 200 euro, and people have paid up to 25,000 dollars for it in auctions.
What makes it so delicious?
The Crown Melon is grown in the Shizuoka prefecture, where there are currently 240 farmers with about 2,000 greenhouses. 141 of these farmers and 1,176 greenhouses are in the city of Fukuroi, according to National Geographic Travel.
The peculiarity of this product, and the reason it is so expensive and tasty, is that producers only let each plant grow one fruit; which allows it to absorb all the nutrients that would otherwise be distributed into different fruits.
The amount of sunlight is another of the main factors that characterize this fruit. In fact, as highlighted on the official website of the Japanese agricultural cooperative Shizuoka Crown Melon, "the Enshu region, the western part of Shizuoka prefecture, is known as one of the places with the most sunlight hours in Japan."
This melon variety is grown in glass greenhouses that have automatic windows that maintain their temperature and humidity appropriately. The producers use an artisanal cultivation technique to grow them. They planted them in a separate bed of soil that allows the melons to grow with a certain amount of land separated from the ground.
But what really sets these melons apart is that, as part of the special care they receive, they are massaged every day. "The fruits are given a daily massage with gloves to ensure that they reach their maximum sweetness potential, helping to distribute the sugar in the fruit evenly," National Geographic Travel added.
Not all of the harvested melons qualify for the Crown Melon status. After the fruits are harvested, producers examine their levels of freshness, sugar content, flavor, and maturity. Only the specimens that meet all the required standards are sold as Crown Melons.
The Crown Melon is consumed in few countries outside of Japan due to the cost of transporting it, health controls, and its short post-harvest lifespan.
It's a real luxury that can now be eaten in Madrid.
Source: 20minutos.es
