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Who's tried durian?
Inspired by the beetroot question: Who has tried durian, and what are your thoughts on it?
Known to some as the king of fruits and to others as something incredibly smelly.
I've become a big durian fan, but try not to eat too much of it during the season here, since it is calorie dense and very "heaty" if you follow traditional Chinese medicine.
Love durian ! Thought it smelled absolutely horrid the first time I tried it, but over time, came to love the smell as well.
Used to be hard to get here in the US (for a long time, only frozen Monthong from Thailand was available here) but nowadays, there is actually a decent selection of durians from Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam - still only frozen, but much higher quality than used to be the case. Also highly recommend Year of the Durian - they ship very unique varieties of durian - it's crazy how different some of them can taste, especially some of the D. graveolens varieties.
I noticed the variety and was thankful when there was some frozen Musan King durian from Malaysia available for my wife when we lived in the US. My wife's family has let me know the best durians come from the state of Malaysia we live in, and I have not been able to eat durian widely enough to contradict it, though I do know I didn't trust the Thai durians in the US when I couldn't smell the durian smell on them since I had seen that a lot of durians shipped to the US were treated to stop them being so smelly.
I've seen year of the durian before, I think I have it bookmarked somewhere to try out more durian here in Malaysia.
I compeltely agree that it is amazing the difference in falvor between varieties. My favorite is getting the "kampong" (small town) durians which are the none named varieties that people would grow in their back yard or somewhere. The flavor profile can vary so much that it's like rolling the dice to see what you'll get, and since there isn't the "standard" flavor of getting a specific type of durian they're much cheaper.
I also enjoy it. I think people’s aversion to it has to do with it disagreeing with their concept of how a fruit is supposed to be. It is not very stinky in my opinion. Just think of it like a cheese; something to spread on a cracker :)
Tried durian for the first time in my late 20s on a visit to Malaysia. We were driving back from Cameron Highlands, following a windy road along the mountainside, and came across a small pull-off with a durian vendor. The vendor cracked open the spiky fruit – I forget which variety – and we all grabbed a lobe. The smell wasn't the best, but the breezy and cool (well, cool for southeast asia) venue helped a lot. The flavor was interesting in a good way. Creamy, a bit sweet, a hint of banana. Nobody told me about the thin film around the custard-like flesh, reminded me of a thick skin that forms on a soup and was a little off-putting. The folks I was with from the region later complained how it was such a bland batch, which was probably a good thing for a first-timer. I could do without the durian-flavored burps that visited for the next few hours though.
Since then, I've grown to really like durian. There's so many different varieties with different flavor profiles. They're not the cheapest. Thankfully I don't have a picky refined palate, so practically any durian is good durian to me. I find fresh to be noticeably different than when it's used as an ingredient or frozen, so it's worth trying both even if you don't like one.
Like @pekt mentioned, there's a number of traditional beliefs around the consumption of durian. I just smile politely when cautioned and reach for another lobe.
I tried it the first time with my future in laws and thought the taste was good, but the aftertaste was awful. I would refuse to eat it while in the US since it cost so much, and would get it just for my wife to enjoy. I told her once we moved here I'd "treat it like beer" and eat it until I got used to it, which didn't take very long Now I love eating durian and would eat it a lot more if it wasn't so filled with calories.
During the season where I live in Malaysia there are usually 4-6 stands within a 5-minute drive of my house selling it fresh which is nice, and there is a delivery service that will bring fresh durian to you for ~20 RM a box.
If you ever make it up to my neck of the woods during durian season @DrStone, let me know, and we can try out one of the durian buffets. I've been meaning to go for a while.
I’ve tried it. It’s OK. It’s certainly not as bad as the smell might have one think. But I don’t particularly care for the flavor either. I find that I don’t care much for tropical fruit in general, with bananas being a notable exception.
Interesting that bananas make the cut! Are these the cavendish bananas or do all kinds of bananas work for you?