Durian~The King of Fruits~
 

Hi! I checked and discovered that there's no thread on this unique fruit yet, so I have gone ahead and make one. Go ahead and discuss your first impression of durian or talk about its infamous smell. So for those who are unsure what a durian is, here is a short summary plus a pic:

What is a Durian?

Durian is a fruit: a big, green thorny fruit. It is considered "King of the Fruit" throughout the region of South East Asia. Basically, we are eating the pulp of the seed. Its strong smell will scare away many people -- some would rather die than to smell the STINK of a Durian. But to those who love it, they can eat Durian for their breakfast, lunch and dinner!
-http://ldt.stanford.edu/~chaoyc/emol2/durian.htm

The durian is a tropical fruit from South-East Asia that is famous for its unique odour, often described as overpowering and offensive. Covered in a thick, thorny husk, the fruit can grow to the size of a football and weigh up to three kilos. The creamy, slightly sweet flesh has a custard-like texture and a flavour somewhat similar to strawberries. Durian is most commonly cut up and eaten raw or in a fruit salad, however it's also possible to make durian jam
-http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/glossary/Durian-L105.html



Picture:

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/9...ankutejens.jpg

I like it very much. The taste of the ripe ones is divine! Okay maybe I exaggerate a bit, :D but it’s true that its deliciousness is unparalleled by any other fruit.

Oh, about the smell. I always like its smell. It’s so alluring. For those who don’t know, durian doesn’t stinks or reeks. Its smell is just...well...(for lack of better word) unique. I’d say almost everyone who like eating durian also love its smell ^_^.

And yeah, I know some people who really really hates durian’s smell. I just can’t understand/comprehend their hates. :uhoh::confused:

Btw, don’t eat durian too much. Eating them too much can be bad for your health ;).

Well, unique or not the smell of Durians are so sticky and reviled that hotels here have a strict policy of forbidding anyone from bringing Durians inside hotel rooms :heh:

I'm one of those who don't mind the smell of Durians, but still wouldn't want to be too near it for extended periods of time. They are undoubtedly delicious though, especially once processed (being as lazy as I am, I prefer Durian in candy form).

Some interesting thing about the fruit. It apparently is a living fossil that had pretty much retain it's form from the Jurassic era till today.

That will perhaps explain the strong odour, (The need for it to attract huge animals such as a dinosaur to devour and spread the seeds), the huge size and seed (Back in the days, bigger is better.) and the thorns. ( the need to protect the seeds from nosy animals until it is ripe.)

I've always found this image (from Singapore mass transit) quite funny.


And then I smelled one...

The high population density consisting of various ethnic groups does not help either.

My cat despises durians to the extent he would hiss whenever he is forcefully brought near to smell it,lol.

Can't say I've ever had one, especially due to my geographical location.

Endless "So Cal" Soul

We are supposed to force-feed them durians, but bleeding heart groups say "nooooo......":eyespin:

Supposedly if you put salt into the leftover indents and mix with water, it can reduce the heatiness of the fruit.

I'll say the durian is one of the best fruits, or food overall I have ever ate. Maybe it helps that its a local fruit. And i certainly would be enjoying sleeping or chilling in a room filled with its smell, a little fetish, you could say.

But for those who have not eaten it before? They do not know what they are missing!

Durian might have a rather unpleasant smell to most people, but they don't know what unpleasant means until they come across stinky tofu. The strong odour...I sometimes curse myself for being a Chinese when I am served stinky tofu by relatives.

That sounds like my brother. Only that he doesn't like eating them, just simply fonds of their smell.

Another incredibly stinking chinese food: shrimp paste. Oh god shrimp paste...

Not so bad when it's already turned into sambal :cool:

Agree. It's an essential ingredient for sambal, and sambal is without doubt the best ever condiment mankind has invented.

Sambal is so weak. Try jeotgal.

You can smell that from a mile away... I remember this one place in Hong Kong where they had a tofu shop right next to a slush puppy/ice cream shop. You want to stay away from the tofu shop but in that heat you need that ice cream. In the end your eating a ice cream and all you can remember is the smells of stinky tofu. :upset:

I been avoiding Durian all my life. I think I may have tried it once when I was a kid. I just can't seem to put smelly food into my mouth.

Always a fun question to ask a friend whenever to carry durian or stinky tofu onto the tube/bus. :cool:

Sambal terasi actually smells pretty nice. But that's Indonesian nose saying.

I'll have to try to eat one when my allergies are full blown and I can't smell anything :p

Durian smells funky, that's for sure, but it doesn't smell as bad as other things (such as the aforementioned stinky tofu).

I don't particularly like the fruit myself, and the smell is very strong and tends to hang around long after the fruit has left the building.