Cucumis melo 'Yubari King'
Section of a fresh Yūbari King melon
GenusCucumis
SpeciesC. melo
Hybrid parentageCucumis melo
Earl's Favourite × Burpee's "Spicy" Cantaloupe
Cultivar'Yubari King?'
OriginYūbari, Hokkaidō, Japan

The Yubari King (夕張メロン, Yūbari Meron, Yūbari melon) is a cantaloupe cultivar farmed in greenhouses in Yūbari, Hokkaido, a small city close to Sapporo.[1]

The Yubari King is a hybrid of two other cantaloupe cultivars: Earl's Favourite and Burpee's "Spicy" Cantaloupe.[2] The hybrid's scientific name is Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus Naud. cv. Yubari King.

Six Yubari King melons packed in cardboard for transport

A top-grade melon is to be perfectly round and have an exceptionally smooth rind. A portion of the stem, which is snipped with scissors, is left on top for aesthetic appeal.[3] Some Japanese people present Yubari King melons as gifts during Chūgen (中元).[4]

At a Japanese auction in 2008, two Yubari King melons sold together for ¥2.5 million.[5] In 2016, Konishi Seika, a fruit and vegetable market in Amagasaki, bought a pair of Yubari King melons at auction with a winning bid of ¥3 million.[6][7][8] In 2019 Tokyo-based Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage Ltd bought a pair of Yubari melons at auction for the highest recorded price of ¥5 million.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ "Yubari: Japan's Melon Kingdom". Sake-Drenched Postcards. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  2. ^ "Yubari Melon". Made in Japan: 100 Best Products. Kansai Matsusin. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  3. ^ Shah, Dhiram (15 May 2007). "Japan's Cadillac of melons Yubari melons fetches record 2 million yen". Fareastgizmos. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  4. ^ "Japon: le boeuf de Kobe et le melon de Yubari désormais protégés par un label". L'Express (in French). Groupe L'Express. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  5. ^ Hosaka, Tomoko A. (15 May 2009). "Slump hits Japan's most expensive melons". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
  6. ^ 夕張メロン初競り　過去最高２玉３００万円. 日テレNEWS24 (video) (in Japanese). Nippon News Network. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  7. ^ "夕張メロン初競り 過去最高２玉３００万円". Livedoor (in Japanese). Line Corporation. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  8. ^ "会社概要" [Company Profile]. konishi524.net (in Japanese). Konishj-syouten. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  9. ^ Shimbun, The Yomiuri. "Pair of Yubari melons fetch record ¥5 million at Sapporo auction". The Japan News. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  10. ^ "Pair of Yubari melons fetch record ¥5 million at season's first auction in Hokkaido". The Japan Times Online. 2019-05-24. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2019-05-24.

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