What are durians like?

[Togath]

So after reading so many horror stories about them for many years... I've started to come across several "they smell bad but taste normal" ones. Do they really just taste kinda sweet, and just have a funky scent?

[Knaight]

First of all, they don't smell "bad". They have a tendency to be literally banned due to their odor throughout SE Asia in public buildings, hotels, and basically anywhere with a system that will propogate the smell widely. As for tasting normal, in terms of fat content they're roughly comparable to butter. It's a ridiculously rich food, and very distinctive. Whether it's gross or so good that it's worth putting up with the smell depends on who's having it, but I've never seen anyone who tried it (and this was in Thailand, where it was just one of the fruits around) call it normal.

[Togath]

More I mean people describing it as "the worst most nausea inducing flavor ever"... which seems incorrect, the more I read.

[Knaight]

More I mean people describing it as "the worst most nausea inducing flavor ever"... which seems incorrect, the more I read.

It's polarizing - I found the flavor a bit bad and have nothing good to say about the scent, but know plenty of people who consider the flavor incredible (who have nothing good to say about the scent). I would say it's worth trying, but you're in North America, right? In my experience the tropical fruits we have here are pale imitation of those tropical fruits in the tropics. I loved mango and pineapple while in Thailand; it's been twelve years and I still can't eat an American mango due to how inferior they are here; pineapples are still disappointing but at least remain decent.

[tomandtish]

Yeah, "bad smell" is subjective. My wife actually likes the smell. To me, it smells like a rotting onion. But it tastes wonderful.

[Xuc Xac]

The first time you eat it, it's disgusting. The second time, it's ok. The third time, it's good.

[Razade]

It smells like rotting onions and banana. It tastes about the same with a vaguely pudding texture. It's one of the most nauseating combinations one can get. Considering on top of it all the fruit is hard to get to and you're rarely going to get them fresh, just avoid them. They're not worth it.

[anjxed]

They don't necessarily smell "bad". Its odor is just really really STRONG. The consistency is like butter and the taste, kinda sweet, but again the smell is just really really strong.

[Trekkin]

The flavor and odor also depend heavily on how ripe they are, which can be tricky to judge if you're not used to dealing with spiny, armored fruit. In general, if you wait till they're properly ripe, the smell isn't too bad and they're kind of similar to custard or banana pudding (or butter) in texture, although your mileage will vary on flavor.

All in all, they tend to be overhyped by the "I had an authentic version back when I was backpacking around the world" crowd, both in terms of the smell and the taste. Many, many durians, gathered together in various states of ripeness, smell hyperbolically awful. Similarly, durian can taste very good if properly handled and opened at the right time and you have a taste for it. It's just a fruit.

[Togath]

Sounds worth trying some time~:smallbiggrin:
I have had good luck with uncommon-in-America fruits so far, and jackfruits quickly became a favorite(though it sounds a very different taste to durian). Also on my list to try: mangosteens.
I did try a cherimoya too a few months ago, but it was horribly under ripe and oddly bruised. I've heard the local fruit stand sells them though for reasons that escape me(given they normally just sell local fruits... unless cherimoya are hardier than I think?).

[2D8HP]

I don't remember ever eating it but I do remember the smell which I have encountered many times at local supermarkets, and which I try to avoid.

I often call durian the "funky fruit", as in "let's get away from the funky fruit".

I would compare the smell to the strong body odor of an unwashed person who's been working hard in the heat, with a hint of the autopsy room.

I really don't like the smell, and I don't plan on finding out the taste (which I'm told is delicious).

[Fri]

I don't remember ever eating it but I do remember the smell which I have encountered many times at local supermarkets, and which I try to avoid.

I often call durian the "funky fruit", as in "let's get away from the funky fruit".

I would compare the smell to the strong body odor of an unwashed person who's been working hard in the heat, with a hint of the autopsy room.

I really don't like the smell, and I don't plan on finding out the taste (which I'm told is delicious).

I can't stand it, which is annoying because it's a delicacy and actually a produce of my hometown. So people from all over the country came to my hometown as a kid to get it, and I can't stand it.

I don't find the smell that bad, but it's really strong. That's the reason why it's banned, mostly. It's really strong and if it's put in say, a train, it will easily travel to the whole train and will permeate everyone's clothing for a day. That's why you shouldn't put them near other produces or as well, because it will put their smell on them.

On the taste, everyone has described it accurately enough. Basically it's a very fatty fruit, so the fruit flesh texture is _exactly_ like creamy butter or custard, and it tastes really sweet and rich with a hint of alcohol. Because ripe fruit ferment, and I know people can get drunk if eating too much of them (not a problem in far away lands where it's expensive and exotic, but in my hometown where it's sold by the truckload, people does get tipsy from it. Since it's basically a fat and creamy thing already, a typical way to eat it here is mix it with milk and make durian ice cream.

[Winter_Wolf]

Anything that makes gumchucks or biivuq (rotten fish heads and "fermented" beaver tail) seem like a possibly better source of nutrition is not food in my book. Based on the smell of durian, it's a worse choice; based on the description of the texture of the fruit, its *still* a worse choice. I'm going on record right now as stating I'd rather risk the botulism poisoning than attempt to consume a durian.

But if other people can enjoy it, hey good on them (from my position a goodly distance upwind of them).

[Serpentine]

I actually can't really remember the smell of it it very well, but I recall that to me it tasted kind of like burnt custard with a hint of onion.

Sounds worth trying some time~:smallbiggrin:
I have had good luck with uncommon-in-America fruits so far, and jackfruits quickly became a favorite(though it sounds a very different taste to durian). Also on my list to try: mangosteens.
I did try a cherimoya too a few months ago, but it was horribly under ripe and oddly bruised. I've heard the local fruit stand sells them though for reasons that escape me(given they normally just sell local fruits... unless cherimoya are hardier than I think?).Mangosteen is my favourite. When you try it, though, watch out for yellow stain on the white flesh - it's incredibly bitter, and you can't really tell on the outside whether it'll be there. Heartbreaking to put down like $5 on your favourite fruit only to find it's a mouthful of yellow disappointment. But a good mangosteen is a thing of bliss.

You might like to try snakefruit while you're at it. The flesh reminds me of a lychee, if a lychee had the texture somewhere between an apple and a cashew. ...that's probably a terrible description, but if you try it you'll see I'm right. Plus it looks like a ball of snake!

I really want to try a cashew fruit, but apparently they're incredibly fragile, so if you don't live somewhere that grows cashews they're really hard to get.
Which seems weird to me, since, like, you can get raspberries everywhere.

[The_Ditto]

My Story about Durian ... :)

Background: I'm a pretty typical Caucasian Male, born and raised in Canada. Both parents same.
My wife is Chinese (Mongolian specifically, but those lines are blurring ... )
She came to Canada just after 2k - we married in 2005.

So anyway, she indicated she likes Durian and wanted to introduce me to it.
Ok, sure .. I'm a bugger for punishment .. willing to try anything.

So we go out and buy a Frozen Durian (this is recommended, as it helps slow down the strong smell).

The fun began when she asked me to open it .. and didn't really explain how!!
O.o

So I did some searching on the internet .. but I couldn't seem to match up the instructions with reality ...

What I ended up doing was using a Hammer And Chisel .. and about 30 min of sweat induced labour.

Finally got the sucker open ... the "fruit" is very interesting, almost like a thick pudding ... yellowish/orange in color.
oh and yeah .. VERY strong odor ... make sure you have windows open on a nice day when you try this :)

But taste .. VERY nice ... very RICH .. it very strong, rich taste ... don't expect to eat much in one sitting.
We froze the rest into small batches into some (disposable) containers in freezer.
I'm not sure you really wash containers used to store it ... the smell REALLY permeates things ... hehe

But yeah .. 2nd time we tried it ... I managed to get it right .. still used hammer and chisel, but found the "sweet spot", 1 hit, POP ped right open .. :)

It's definitely worth trying once .. but be prepared .. it's not an easy thing to tackle.
If you want .. turn it into a party or something .. invite some friends (manly ones) and invite/challenge them to open it ..

Who knows .. you might find somebody who has tried it and knows how to open it properly .. ;)
But there is a LOT of fruit inside, so having more people to eat it right away and not store it is a good idea as well.

Cheers .. and have fun!

[Trekkin]

If you get a frozen durian (and then thaw it), you can sometimes cut open the lobes from the side, one at a time, and save the rest of the fruit that way.

[NichG]

I had one from a market in the US, and I found the smell to be very mild (compared to the reputation), but the texture was off-putting. Slimy but stringy at the same time. I've heard there's a difference between durian and 'true' durian though.

[Togath]

How spiny is it compared to a jackfruit? A tougher shell or about the same?

[Trekkin]

How spiny is it compared to a jackfruit? A tougher shell or about the same?

Most of the spines on the most commonly available durian here are about 1-1.5 cm long from base to tip and actually sharp; it wouldn't be such a problem if the fruit wasn't so big, but there's enough mass there that gloves are advised. As for toughness, if they've been frozen it's about the same.

[Togath]

The jackfruit I had was... hmm. About two feet long? Maybe closer to 18 inches.
How's that compare size-wise? Spikes were about half an inch long, I think, and skinny.

[Trekkin]

Durians are much smaller than jackfruit; the biggest durians I've seen were about 28 cm long and maybe 14 wide.

[Serpentine]

Durians are big, hard, heavy and with large, sharp spikes. Think a mace head. If no one's ever been killed by one, I'll be surprised.

[Xuc Xac]

Durians are big, hard, heavy and with large, sharp spikes. Think a mace head. If no one's ever been killed by one, I'll be surprised.

The bad guy in the Jackie Chan movie "Police Story 3: Supercop" kills a guy by bashing his head in with a durian.

[Fri]

How spiny is it compared to a jackfruit? A tougher shell or about the same?

Way, way bigger and spikier and sharper and harder. It's actually dangerous and will draw blood easily. It's honestly an actual mace head.

Compare

Durian

http://i.imgur.com/ocrAiD5.jpg

Jackfruit
http://www.dailyfailcentral.com/sites/default/files/fail/aMGBArX_700b.jpg

[tantric]

in a word, unholy. my friend brought back a batch of mixed tropical jello cups - and just sat there and watched me while i tried to eat the durian. and then laughed to scare the skirt off a saint, silly chinese waif cackling

[ahyangyi]

Some people love it. I hate it.
Its smell is a bit like mango, or the typical "tropical fruit flavor", or any other fruit when they're a bit over ripened. But the smell is a lot stronger than all these analogies I listed. It's literally overwhelming me.

The texture is greasy. It indeed has lots of sugar and fat in it. So just imagine some greasy dessert that's naturally grown inside a fruit. They are indeed quite sweet though, which is its saving grace, or makes it unhealthy for you, or rounds out its "nice smell", depending on who you are.

[The_Admiral]

Delicious, all who say otherwise are heretics.

[Artemis97]

I really want to try a cashew fruit, but apparently they're incredibly fragile, so if you don't live somewhere that grows cashews they're really hard to get.
Which seems weird to me, since, like, you can get raspberries everywhere.

I may be misinformed, or we're talking about two different things, but aren't the fruit from which we get the cashew nut poisonous?

[Fri]

I don't remember that it's poisonous. It's relatively common here, though according to wikipedia it does have some irritants. I remember it tastes bad though, though maybe I just had bad fruits of it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashew

[Razade]

People eat the Cashew Apple, as it's called, and it's not poisonous. The nuts are actually poisonous in their raw form however. Steaming removes the toxin.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

I never tried durians, ironic since they are locally grown. The smell puts me off and once opened the flesh doesn't look all that appealing. My dad and older folks in general seem to like it.

There are plenty of other fruits I'd rather eat before trying it.

[Artemis97]

People eat the Cashew Apple, as it's called, and it's not poisonous. The nuts are actually poisonous in their raw form however. Steaming removes the toxin.

Ah, maybe that's what I was thinking of then. Knew something about it was poisonous. Just didn't expect it to be my favorite nut!

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I'm kind of surprised that other infamous aspect of the fruit doesn't get mentioned much here.

What I'm saying is: it tastes good, but it really can make you go on a room clearing farting spree. Sure, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the smell is not strictly a before eating thing.

[Chromascope3D]

You can do this with them. (https://youtu.be/7OSCe5c3rJY?t=2m25s)

[Haruspex_Pariah]

You can do this with them. (https://youtu.be/7OSCe5c3rJY?t=2m25s)

should i be surprised that a channel about crushing things with a hydraulic press has so many viewers and subscribers

Anyway back on topic. My dad just last week brought some durian back. He kept it in the fridge, which meant I didn't go near it for a few days. Remembering this thread, I thought about giving it a try, but the smell was effectively a repulsor field pushing me away.

I think it's fair to say people link smell and taste pretty closely.