I must do a short post about one of the strangest fruits I have ever met. Durian is beloved by Malaysians and is referred to as the king of fruit. On the outside the fruit is hard, round, and slightly smaller than a volleyball, covered with sharp spikes. Inside there are several compartments where soft cream to yellow colored fruit covers several large seeds.
The first thing you experience with durian is its unique smell. Wikipedia describes it well: “The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage. Or as described by travel and food writer Richard Sterling: “its odor is best described as pig excrement, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock.” Ripe fruit can be detected by animals in the forest over a mile away and the smell is so strong that the fruit is banned in many hotels and public buses and trains across Asia. The smell has caused evacuations in office buildings, hospitals, and shopping malls. I will confirm that you can pick up the sweet animal smell of durian rounding a street corner, or entering a market or a house.
The flavor of Durian is also like no other fruit I have encountered. In the US, our fruits are simple, with flavors that are little bit sour with a straightforward sweetness and a consistent juicy or crunchy texture. Durian is complex and hits so many taste buds at once, it can be confusing. The texture is stringy and at the same time, soft and mushy. It has a strong flavor that is sweet and sour and creamy that also tastes a bit like a strong overripe soft cheese with some raw garlic. The taste is certainly lingering. It has been described as: subtle hints of chives mixed with powdered sugar. It’s supposed to taste like diced garlic and caramel poured into whipped cream. There are also hundreds of varieties of durian (like our varieties of apples) with flavors that are said to range from peanut butter pound cake to chocolate liquor to caramelized onion omelets to vanilla frosting.
Our collaborator, Dr. Farah brought some fresh durian from her parent's village and I got to try it when she had us over to her house for dinner. It was an interesting experience, and I can confirm that I like the fruit more than Liz, though I can’t say I am quite as crazy about it as most Malaysians. Given the smell, I will not be bringing any home for you to try.
The flavor of Durian is also like no other fruit I have encountered. In the US, our fruits are simple, with flavors that are little bit sour with a straightforward sweetness and a consistent juicy or crunchy texture. Durian is complex and hits so many taste buds at once, it can be confusing. The texture is stringy and at the same time, soft and mushy. It has a strong flavor that is sweet and sour and creamy that also tastes a bit like a strong overripe soft cheese with some raw garlic. The taste is certainly lingering. It has been described as: subtle hints of chives mixed with powdered sugar. It’s supposed to taste like diced garlic and caramel poured into whipped cream. There are also hundreds of varieties of durian (like our varieties of apples) with flavors that are said to range from peanut butter pound cake to chocolate liquor to caramelized onion omelets to vanilla frosting.
Our collaborator, Dr. Farah brought some fresh durian from her parent's village and I got to try it when she had us over to her house for dinner. It was an interesting experience, and I can confirm that I like the fruit more than Liz, though I can’t say I am quite as crazy about it as most Malaysians. Given the smell, I will not be bringing any home for you to try.