Since the beginning of agriculture, humans have been creating and eating fruits and vegetables that don’t look like the regular fruit. This is how different bizarre shaped fruits have come into existence.
After the box-shaped and heart-shaped watermelon which cost thousands of dollars were created and sold in Sembikkya, Japan’s oldest running greengrocers which is most famous for its oddly shaped fruit, a Chinese local farmer known as De He who was unsuccessful in his ginseng molding business began to grow fruits in shapes of babies on his farm near the city of Nanchang in south China’s Jiangxi province.
Actually, these bizarre fruits do not grow naturally into these shapes. Instead, they are encased in plastic molds that they fill as they grow. By the time it is fully matured, it has forced itself into the shape of the mold. According to the local Chinese farmer, no one can resist a lovely piece of fruit that looks like a beautiful baby. He believed he would make a lot of profit by selling pears in the form of perfectly formed innocent babies.
People’s reaction to the bizarre baby- shaped pear fruit
The unusual baby shaped pear fruits have been getting a lot of attention in local markets. Each fruit costs $3 which is ten times the original price of a regular pear. Many think the strange looking fruits grown by the local Chinese farmer are expensive and too weird for human consumption, while others who think they worth the pay, have been purchasing these fruit not just because of the shape but because of an old Chinese folktale that promises immortality to anybody who eats a baby- shaped fruit.
According to De He, parents, in particular, are so much in love with these fruits. They believe their children can easily be tricked into eating the baby-shaped pear fruits due to their attractive shapes. Presumably, the high cost might be due to the amount of work that went into their development.
De He plans to expand his fruit molding business
The local Chinese farmer wants to expand his fruit molding business. Knowing full well the disastrous health implication of obesity which is on the rise in China especially amongst children, due to the consumption of junk and sweet foods, De He believes creating baby shaped watermelons and pumpkins will attract children to eat these naturally sweet and delicious fruits.
The local farmer included that parents whose children are picky eaters are so much happy with this idea since these pears can easily be mistaken for toys. Moreover, these strange looking pears also make a great decorative treat.