Farmers in Hokkaido, Japan, have created a new fruit.
It’s currently being called “lemon melon” as it is round and juicy, tastes sweet like a melon and also slightly sour like a lemon.
It looks like a watermelon, but without the stripes, while the inside is white. According to reports, the texture of the fruit starts out crisp like a pear, but as it ripens, it gets much softer, so there are several different ways to enjoy it.
The new fruit is being cultivated in limited quantities by five farmers in Hokkaido.
According to Japan Today, Suntory Flowers – the Japanese horticulture company that developed the fruit – said it bred the unique offering from a type of melon originally imported from overseas and have been working on it for the past five years.
The current product, which is propagated with lemons, is the result of countless experiments on cultivation methods and harvest times, and this is the first year that they can sell them.
According to the Suntory website, the melon is “a perfect reward dessert of hot summer with refreshing acidity".
This year, the company is expecting to cultivate about 3,800 lemon melons, which will be sold in Sapporo supermarkets until the end of August. They currently retail for 3,220 yen ($22) each.
This is the latest addition to Japan's luxury fruit market, which includes items such as white strawberries, square-shaped watermelons, the Dekopon citrus, a hybrid of mandarin and oranges, as well as Ruby Roman grapes and Miyazaki mangoes, the most expensive in the world.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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The alternatives
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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The specs
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
