Yubari King
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]
| Cucumis melo 'Yubari King' | |
|---|---|
 Section of a fresh Yūbari King melon | |
| Genus | Cucumis |
| Species | C. melo |
| Hybrid parentage | Cucumis melo Earl's Favourite × Burpee's "Spicy" Cantaloupe |
| Cultivar | 'Yubari King' |
| Origin | Yūbari, Hokkaidō, Japan |
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.
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
- "Yubari: Japan's Melon Kingdom". Sake-Drenched Postcards. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
- "Yubari Melon". Made in Japan: 100 Best Products. Kansai Matsusin. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
- Shah, Dhiram (15 May 2007). "Japan's Cadillac of melons Yubari melons fetches record 2 million yen". Fareastgizmos. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- "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.
- 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.
- 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.
- "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.
- "会社概要" [Company Profile]. konishi524.net (in Japanese). Konishj-syouten. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
- Shimbun, The Yomiuri. "Pair of Yubari melons fetch record ¥5 million at Sapporo auction". The Japan News. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- "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.
Further reading
- Nakata, Eijiro; Staub, Jack E.; López-Sesé, Ana I.; Katzir, Nurit (2005). "Genetic Diversity of Japanese Melon Cultivars (Cucumis melo L.) as Assessed by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA and Simple Sequence Repeat Markers". Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. Springer Science+Business Media. 52 (4): 405–19. doi:10.1007/s10722-005-2258-9. S2CID 44226056.
