One of the biggest complaints that people have about eating healthy is the fact that it can be pretty expensive. Many will gripe about the fact that a double cheeseburger costs around $1 at a fast food joint, while a salad costs about six times that. There are certain fruits and vegetables that are plenty cheap, but those aren’t the fruits we are going to look at today.
Instead, we want to focus on the most expensive fruits in the world. The kinds of fruits that require massive amounts of travel and the perfect timing. These fruits are incredibly rare, so you probably won’t see them at your local grocery store. Not even that snooty organic place in the hipster part of town. Sure, you may have had some great grapes or watermelon that you grew yourself, but it’s unlikely that you could sell them for more than a buck or two. More power to you if you can.
To find these fruits, you will have to look in certain corners of the world that you can’t get to by taking a car. So what are these rare fruits that you may never have the opportunity to sample? We found the 10 most expensive on the entire planet, and the price tag makes the taste that much sweeter— it better, since a lot of these cost thousands of dollars for just a sample.
#10 – Buddha Shaped Pears ($9.00/Each)
Buddha-Shaped-PearsWe visit the country of China for our first fruit, and it is perhaps the most bizarre in all of the world. When we say Buddha shaped pears, we are not messing around at all. These pears look exactly like a Buddha statue, even down to the facial details.
A mold was made by Chinese farmer Xianzhang Hao of the Hebei province. Hao would then grow the pears into these molds and they would resemble Buddha to a T. For the amount of work that goes into these pears and the fact that immortality is offered by eating one (as foretold by the Chinese myth of a magical Buddha shaped fruit), I guess $9 isn’t asking too much. Still, we have to know. Average pear cost at your local market? Around $0.50 each (minus immortality).
#9 – Sekai Ichi Apples ($21.00 Each)
Sekai-Ichi-Apples
The name Sekai Ichi translates into English as “World’s Number One”. That’s a pretty bold statement, but these apples have backed it up.
After celebrating the 40th birthday of the apples in 2014, they are still the most expensive in the entire world. The average fruit has a circumference of 15 inches, so their waist lines are almost bigger than some supermodels. They also weigh around two pounds each, so you can do some damage with them. Average apple cost at your local market? Around $0.85 each.
#8 – Dekopon Citrus ($80.00/Pack Of Six)
Dekopon-Citrus
Mandarin oranges are nothing new, but the Dekopon version of the fruit (that first started growing in 1972) is particularly fresh. Dekopon is the brand name for the fruit, and only the top of the line oranges make it through.
These oranges look much different than others due to the fact that they are the size of softballs and have a huge hump on the very top. They are also lauded as the most delicious and sweet oranges in all of the world. Average orange cost at your local market? Around $4 for a pack of six.
#7 – Sembikiya Queen Strawberries ($85.00/Pack Of 12)
Senbikiya-Queen-Strawberries
The Senbikiya Queen Strawberry package is perhaps the fanciest of all arrangements on this list. You have seen the perfect strawberry at your local market, the one that is red all the way through with a dark green leaf at the top and has the seeds of pure white popping out from the skin. It’s mouthwatering just thinking about it.
What makes these strawberries so special is that they all look like that. The ones that don’t get tossed out, never to be seen again and disrupt the brand. In one package, you get 12 absolutely gorgeous strawberries, but you might not even want to eat them due to their beauty. Average strawberry cost at your local market? Around $2.75 per pound.
#6 – Square Watermelon ($800.00/Each)
Square Watermelon
Guess where these square watermelons are grown each year? If you guess the obvious choice of Japan, you would be right. In 2014, these square watermelons were finally shipped to countries outside of Japan, but they come at a high price. They are grown in a box, which forces them to take the square shape. That only works with fruit, so don’t try to make a square person.
At around 13 pounds each, these watermelons are sold at department stores across Japan. Most people don’t even eat them, and instead opt to use them as decorations. It’s a great conversation starter, like “How the hell did you get a square watermelon, Linda?” Average watermelon cost at your local market? Around $5.
#5 – Pineapples From The Lost Gardens of Heligan ($1,600/Each)
Pineapples-From-The-Lost-Gardens-of-Heligan
The Lost Gardens of Heligan is one of the most well known botanical spots in all of the United Kingdom. Pineapple pits aren’t quite common in Europe, as Heligan has the only one left in the entire continent. To keep the pit going, two giant mud structures are based in rotting manure to help the pineapples grow and stay ripe.
That’s right, people are willing to pay $1,600 for one pineapple that was grown in mud and rotting poop. The most expensive one to ever be sold out of this pit went for over $15,000. The poo grown pineapple must have been juicy. Average pineapple cost at your local market? Around $3.
#4 – Taiyo no Tamago Mangoes ($3,000/Per Pair)
Taiyo-no-Tamago-Mangoes
Taiyo no Tamago translates into English as “Egg of the Sun”. You don’t want to eat mangos that taste like eggs, but they are just shaped that way. The Egg of the Sun is a brand of fruit that you see in Japan, much like the Dole brand that you see in North America. Dole fruits cost a considerably less amount than these ones, though.
For their mangos, the Egg of the Sun company refuses to sell any single one that is over 350 grams and isn’t packed with a high sugar content. Each year, the auction for the first harvested juicy mangos nets a high price, but $3,000 per pair is the tops. Average mango cost at your local market? Around $1.50…per pound.
#3 – Ruby Roman Grapes ($4,000/Per Bunch)
Ruby-Roman-Grapes
Are you surprised to see that these grapes come out of the country of Japan? No, alright then. These grapes are known as table grapes, and they are about the size of a table. That’s not actually true, but they are the size of ping pong balls.
The Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan is the only spot where you can find the mighty Ruby Roman grapes, and they weren’t produced until the year 2008. It was there that interested buyers offered $910 for just one small sampling ($26 per grape!) of a bunch. Average grape cost at your local market? Around $3…per pound.
#2 – Densuke Watermelon ($6,100/Each)
Densuke-Watermelon
What makes the Densuke watermelon that much rarer than any other watermelon in the world? It’s quite a bit larger at around 24 pounds and has a black rind, but that’s about it. What in the world could possibly make it so expensive?
The ludicrously high price tag comes as a result of its rarity. You can only find the Densuke watermelon in the island region of Hokkaido Japan, and around 10,000 are grown each year. Rich people love the taste of rarity, so the first one of each harvesting season is put up for auction. The top one in 2008 netted this amazing price to sneak into the list of most expensive fruits. Average watermelon cost at your local market? Around $4.
#1 – Yubari Melon ($23,000/Per Pair)
Yubari-MelonCantaloupe is one of those things that you either really love, or just absolutely detest. For those that do love the taste, then the Yubari King is the top of the line in the family of orange melons. You can only find these bad boys on the Hokkaido island near Sapporo, and the Yubari is a result of a hybrid between two other sweet cantaloupes.
In Japan, the Yubari melons are given as a gift since they are so expensive. While you might send your wife a fruit basket, some guy in Japan spent thousands for a pair of melons. Get your mind out of the gutter. Average cantaloupe cost at your local market? Around $3.
