I tried the £27 peach from Harrods which is made using specialist Japanese farming techniques – but was it worth it?

Japan is well known for its love of peaches – with seventh-century scriptures waxing  poetic about the fruit’s blossoms – so it is no wonder that the East Asian nation takes great pride in their sweet, juicy export.

But when I saw a box of three being sold for £80 at Harrods – roughly £27 apiece – I physically winced.

For context, a four pack of white-flesh peaches at Waitrose – what I consider a ‘treat’ – is £3.60. 

As I eyed the prized product, it resembled a Tiffany’s counter more than a fruit vendor station – locked away behind glass, and presented ornately on a tray under gleaming lights.

The lovely salespeople informed me that these peaches hail from Yamanshi Prefecture – in the Kyoutou region of the country.

This includes the tourist-beloved Fuefuki – which is so synonymous with the fruit that it is dubbed ‘the Peach City’, and is the largest producer of peaches (and grapes) in Japan.

It was physically painful to spend well over my weekly grocery budget on the produce, and I clutched the bag with my new purchase protectively as I trekked my Underground journey back from Knightsbridge.

However, opening them up at home was like Christmas Day. The experience really did feel glamorous as I unboxed the fruits and laid them out for tasting.

If you’ve got a spare £80 lying around, they would definitely make a perfect gift for a peach fan.

It felt nearly forbidden to wash and slice one of the peaches, which was sizeable and firm to the touch.

Unlike the variants we may be more used to in Europe, these were white on the inside and became starkly pink towards the seed.

So enchanted was I by the sight of them, I nearly forgot that they are renowned for a light, refreshing and sweet flavour.

I braced myself for £27-worth of delicious tang, wondering if I could ever really go back to Tesco after this.

It felt nearly forbidden to wash and slice one of the peaches, which was sizeable and firm to the touch, Elmira said

While it was a lovely peach – albeit, Elmira found, could have been touch underripe – it was ‘nowhere near worthy near £30’

Unlike the variants we may be more used to in Europe, these were white on the inside and became starkly pink towards the seed

However, as I bit into the peach, I felt the bizarreness of the price tag hit me – bluntly – for the second time. 

While it was a lovely peach – albeit, I found, could have been touch underripe – it was nowhere near worthy £27.

Briefly, I started recounting things that would have cost me a similar amount. A nice, juicy steak with peppercorn sauce. A very hefty meal at my favourite restaurant. A block of Sashimi Grade Organic Salmon.

The peach is everything a peach needs to be – it is light, summery refreshing, and has structural integrity that meant I wasn’t dribbling in juice after one bite.

But it appeared there were no exceptional farming practices or incredible ingredients to justify anywhere near its price tag. 

It seems that a lot lies in the lore of the artistry and craftsmanship that comes with cultivating the peaches. 

The lovely salespeople informed Elmira that these peaches hail from Yamanshi Prefecture – in the Kyoutou region of the country

According to the Byfood blog, in Japan peaches are grown in much more ‘controlled conditions’ and are ‘covered with small paper bags while they are green to protect them and encourage them to grow pale and sweet’.

The author also explained that each fruit is plucked by hand and placed one by one next to each other to avoid bruising. This certainly ramps up the price when transporting them, a delicate and expensive affair even within Japan itself, let alone internationally. 

The blog also instructed that – unlike Western peaches – there is a special way to eat the fruit from Japan.

Instead of digging straight in, they recommended cooling it in the fridge before slicing it lengthwise along the pit and peeling the skin.

I rushed back to the kitchen to attempt this – and while it certainly strengthened the sweetness a touch, I didn’t suddenly make the £80 feel worth it.

Earlier this month, Harrods had also sold peaches from the Fukushima region – which was struck by nuclear disaster in 2011 – as reported by the BBC. 

The magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake on 11 March 2011 triggered a 133ft tsunami, which hit the eastern coast of Japan and sent three nuclear reactors into meltdown.

Nuclear fuel was melted and released into the environment, and 300,000 people were initially evacuated from their homes. After years of rebuilding, Japan plans to reopen the Fukushima exclusion zones by 2030.

It was the same price tag – a box of three for £80 – and was part of the region’s attempt to restore trust in the area’s produce.

The move marked the first time peaches from the area have been available in a European store.