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chim chim cha boo 8:11 Wed Jun 24
anyone ever eaten a durian.

Have you ever eaten durian? Walking through the night market last night I thought I'd stumbled across a sewerage plant but it was just a stall selling durian. Does it give you a buzz? The taxi driver warned that it can give you a heart attack if you mix it with booze. Is it true?

'It's like eating the most delicious fruit you've ever eaten in the nastiest toilet you've ever been in' the Rough Guide says.

One of you East Asian-based Hammers must have some experience, surely? Any advice gladly welcomed.

Cheers.

Coffee 8:12 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

The vilest, foulest smelling and foulest tasting fruit on the planet.

fraser 8:12 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

Yes I love it.

chim chim cha boo 8:14 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

Foulest tasting? I thought it was supposed to actually taste delicious?

I had something called 'jack fruit' with my breakfast this morning and that was a bit unpleasant.

Coffee 8:15 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

No fruit inspires as much love and loathing as the durian. Banned in many hotels and public places throughout its native SE Asia, it is prized for its supreme taste by many, while others find its odour uniquely and terminally repellent.

Native to Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, the durian now grows throughout much of SE Asia. The fruit is similar to the jackfruit in size and appearance, but its spikes are more prominent and thornier. Inside are six segments of edible flesh, each with a chestnut-sized seed that is edible when cooked, but toxic when raw.

Durian trees can grow to over 150 feet high and their fruits weigh up to 4 kg. Every year, there are reports of people killed by falling durians. The name comes from the Malay word duri, meaning thorn. It is exclusively tropical and will stop growing when the average day temperature falls below 22°C. It is a seasonal fruit that is ready to eat between June and August.

But for many people, its overriding characteristic is the stench, which is thought to derive from its many sulphur compounds.

Some people believe it has aphrodisiac properties and there is a saying on the Indonesian island of Java that ‘when the durian falls, the sarong rises’. Other people believe that the durian should never be consumed with alcohol or caffeine, as this can induce indigestion and feelings of general indisposition.

Traditional Chinese medicine finds that the durian can cause the eater to perspire inordinately. As an antidote, it recommends eating mangosteens, with which the durian shares its season and which are thought to have an opposite, cooling effect. In Malaysia, some people apply extracts from the durian’s leaves and roots as a poultice to treat fever.

What visitors thought
For Against
“A rich custard highly flavoured with almonds gives the best general idea of it, but there are occasional wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, sherry-wine, and other incongruous dishes. Then there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the pulp which nothing else possesses, but which adds to its delicacy. It is neither acid nor sweet nor juicy; yet it wants neither of these qualities, for it is in itself perfect. It produces no nausea or other bad effect, and the more you eat of it the less you feel inclined to stop.”
Alfred Russel Wallace “like eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory”
Anthony Burgess

“On first tasting it I thought it like the flesh of some animal in a state of putrefaction”
Henri Mouhot

“Its taste can only be described as...indescribable... Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother”
Anthony Bourdain

There are several varieties of durian that range in shape from small and round to long and oval and produce fruity flesh varying in colour from pale cream to dark yellow and orange. The flavours also vary, from very sweet to dry and rather bitter. While some people prefer to eat durian when it is young and crisp, others prefer it more matured and creamier.

It can also be eaten as a vegetable, or cooked with chillis and onions, or with rice and coconut milk. It is made into cakes, candy, milkshakes, ice cream and even cappuccino.

You either love it...
That a fruit can generate such contrasting reaction in people is remarkable. Indifference is rare. For its fans, the odour is a triviality that is readily eclipsed by its rich sweet and slightly bitter flavours of almond, custard, well-matured soft cheese, milky vanilla, sweet butter and bitter chocolate.

...or loathe it
But if you’ve never encountered a durian, imagine the smell of a garbage dump on a hot day. Then add a few rotting eggs, some decaying flesh and multiply all that by n. You now have an approximate idea of its appeal.

Many hotels in SE Asia have signs banning durians from their premises. Some have even been known to charge guests an additional cleaning fee if they leave the stench of the fruit in their room.

fraser 8:16 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

Just Coffee's opinion my boy thinks pineapple is vile, yet most like it.

Westham67 8:19 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

Not a fan , they stink , Missus a daughter like them , got to be careful when you eat them

fraser 8:20 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

Careful in what way?

Sydney_Iron 8:22 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

Tried it ONCE, and that was enough, apart from the stench, its quite sickly, reminded me of sweet vomit.

They sell it here in Asian Grocery stores, the Asians love the stuff.

Syd Puddefoot 8:26 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

As I recall from a long time ago the Lonely Planet guide stated that “It looks like shit, smells like shit and tastes like shit. Durian flavoured ice cream is better in that it still smells and tastes like shit but at least it looks like ice cream.” That sort of put me off trying it.

Coffee 8:31 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

But it doesn't look, smell or taste like shit. It's far worse than that. More like a blocked drain or a garbage dump heated by a hot, relentless sun.

cholo 8:31 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

I'm getting deja vu, I'm sure this topic comes up every five years our so.

Coffee 8:33 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

If it's only every five years, you're lucky. Imagine it came up every transfer window. Or every lunchtime.

fraser 8:33 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

Cholo - but have you tried it?

cholo 8:37 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

Fraser

Tried it? No, reading about it on WHO every five tears puts me right off.

fraser 8:39 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

Cholo - but just a small taste what could possibly happen?

MrTrentReznor 8:48 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

I've eaten out a Gillian.
That was pleasant.

ironsofcanada 8:52 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

It's very good, not sure it is worth the smell or the hatred of others.

bobbymoore 8:57 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

Go on youtube and watch "durianrider".... you'll either love or hate him.

Lovejoy 11:59 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

When staying in Bangkok noticed the hotel had a sign banning this from the premises.

ironsofcanada 12:01 Wed Jun 24
Re: anyone ever eaten a durian.

Lovejoy 11:59 Wed Jun 24

Same signs in certain areas of Toronto and I bet some in the UK too.

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