Scientists cross two fruits to create a ‘Lemon Melon’ that’s juicy, sweet and slightly sour

Melons are a summer must-have for many, with a refreshing hint of sweetness to pick you up in the midday sun.

But farmers have now added the zest you didn’t know you needed, launching an all-new “Lemon Melon” in the Japanese market.

The aptly named franken fruit is the product of fusing a melon and lemon – creating a unique taste of ‘deep sweetness’ with a hint of sour.

It has the familiar shape and appearance of a watermelon, but completely excludes the typical green stripes and also has a particularly white interior.

Despite also being much less heavy than a typical watermelon at 20-25lbs at only 3.3-4.4lbs, HBCNews claims that lemon melons are sold at the eye-watering price of ¥3,218 – or £17.79 / $23.30.

Lemon melons will also be available for a short time only, with only 3,800 units sold in Sapporo, Hokkaido through the end of August.

The product is “characterized by its strong sweetness with a slight acidity that makes it resemble a lemon,” the makers of Suntory describe.

‘The juicy white flesh melon is a delicious taste that you can never get enough of.

‘If you cut it and cool it well before eating it, the balance between sour and sweet comes out even better.

‘A perfect reward dessert for hot summers with refreshing acidity.’

Suntory’s unique new product was grown on five farms in the city of Furano – an area famous for melon production throughout Japan.

It’s unclear exactly how farmers went about producing the lemon melon, but more commonly, crop hybrids are often created using techniques such as cross-pollination.

This largely refers to the process of applying pollen from one flower to the reproductive part of another.

Farmers have the ability to customize a crop’s traits in this way, including color and pest resistance traits.

Makers describe it as having a “deep sweetness” with a hint of citric acidity

HBCNews filmed a handful of customers first tasting the lemon melon when it hit the Japanese market.

One told the publication, “It’s really refreshing. I like it.’

Another added: ‘It has a good balance of sweet and sour. It would be the perfect fruit for a hot day. Can I try another one?’

MailOnline has approached Suntory for more information.

The Japanese creation comes just a year after white strawberries appeared in M&S supermarkets in the UK.

The Japanese creation comes just a year after white strawberries hit M&S ​​supermarkets

While not an entirely new fruit, these “pearl strawberries” were also developed in Japan after seeds from the country’s white berries were crossed with a traditional variety of the fruit.

In 2013, cotton candy grapes also hit stores in the US for the first time, when The Grapery combined two varieties through hand pollination.

Horticulturist David Cain wanted to bring back the flavor in grapes that he claims had been stripped away by decades of fruit growing to withstand shipping and storage.

“A lot of fruit is tasteless by the time someone buys it,” said Mr. Cain. ‘We want to change that.’

READ MORE: Nutritionist reveals what the nasty wisps on a banana actually do – and why you might want to eat them next time

Bananas are a delicious, compact and healthy snack packed with vitamins and antioxidants and rich in potassium.

But many aficionados of the fruit, which the NHS says is one of your five a day, may be put off by the ‘stringy bits’ of flesh that are revealed when you peel one.

There are even rumors that these nasty additives are harmful to your health, but one expert has dispelled such myths by insisting that they really are packed with goodness.

Granted, the awkward, dangling string is known as a phloem bundle, Healthyway explains — and the next time you peel a banana, you might want to consider eating it.

The flat strings between the skin and pulp are known as phloem bundles and contain added nutrients (stock image)