The most expensive strawberries

Ever heard of a strawberry selling for almost $500. The Japanese strawberry farmer, Mikio Okuda, developed his so-called Bijin-Hime (“Beautiful Princess”) Strawberry.

In line with the Japanese culture of gift-giving this strawberry became the ultimate gift. This strawberry can get as big as a baseball and claims to touch four of our five senses at once. We all know that, the larger the strawberry, the less flavour it has. Not so with the Bijin-Hime!

Bijin-Hime strawberries are perfectly shaped with bright, shiny skin. When you bite into one, it is very juicy and the texture is soft but firm. The colour is bright red all the way to the centre. The scent is sweet like roses and the taste is absolutely phenomenal – far less acidic that how we know strawberries.

These strawberries are grown in plastic greenhouses throughout winter, where temperature, air and soil are closely monitored. The slow ripening adds to the great flavour and size.

Unfortunately, these berries do not ship very well. So, if you cannot hop over to Japan for this taste sensation, you are in luck if you live in or visit New York, New Jersey, and Los Angeles. Here they produce these strawberries by combining advanced technology with centuries-old Japanese farming techniques. This results in reduced water requirements and the use of no pesticides.

You can purchase a box containing between eight and 11 smaller than their Japanese siblings, but equally tasty berries for $50. You must however pick up your order or live near enough to benefit from delivery.

Thanks to social media, influencers made it trendy to remark that they were enjoying these strawberries for which they paid $50 a box.