On first sight it looks like a Purim schpiel or perhaps an early April 1 jape, but the square watermelon was advertised by St John’s Wood food hall, Panzer’s is real. And the minute I saw it on the Instagram account of one of northwest London’s most iconic food shops, I was tapping out a message to them. “We’re bringing in four this week from Japan, but they’re already sold” Muzahid Islam, fruit and vegetable expert at the boujie greengrocery, which has been since 2015 .
“We’re hoping to receive between six and eight next week.” You’ll need to be fast to get your teeth into one. Apparently the oddly angular fruits were developed in the 1970’s by an artist named Tomoyuki Ono and are only grown in the city of Zentusji.
“There are farmers who grow only these watermelons.” Not much of a product range, although perhaps less surprising when I learn the cultivation is highly intensive — which adds up to a price tag per fruit (which weighs in at around 6kg) is £225. The limited supply is partly down to this year’s harvest window being limited to two weeks this year down to climate issues.
They are also in demand in Japan where giving costly fruits as gifts is a mark of respect — the higher the price, the greater your gratitude. Other fruits that attract a high price tag are strawberries that are grown on their own plants — one berry per plant The shape is formed by growing them in a clear sided box so they can still benefit from daylight, and they.
