Yasuhar

A cultivated crop of Kovalar, the yasuhar is a type of miniature melon enjoyed in Shen cuisine for its versatility; the flavor profile of yasuhar fruit shifts from being painfully spicy while the fruits are young and developing, to being pleasantly sweet with a kick once it has ripened on the vine. Each fruit has a rounded hourglass shape like two conjoined, cobalt blue orbs; the lumpy and firm-skinned surface of the fruit slowly takes on veins of bright yellow as it ripens, radiating out from the stalk and slowly expanding until the entire fruit is striped blue and yellow.

The flesh of an underripe yasuhar is a soft pink color, smooth and tender in all ways except flavor, and riddled with tiny white seeds which develop its painfully strong spice level. As it ripens, the flesh retracts towards the walls to consolidate into a much sweeter mass and releases the seeds into the center where they rattle about, ready to sprinkle across the ground once the fruit falls and cracks open. Slices of yasuhar are often pickled before ripening for a tangy, spicy flavor, though a few risky spacers have boasted their ability to eat the underripe fruit raw without tearing up. Once ripe, the fruit is popular as the main flavor profile for a wide variety of sweet dishes.