Durian?

DURIAN FRUIT

Durian is a fruit: a big, green thorny fruit native to Malaysia and Indonesia. In fact, it is considered "King of the Fruit" throughout South East Asia. It has a creamy texture, and the taste of its flesh sends its eaters into ecstasies (and it has the reputation of being an aphrodisiac) But is has one drawback. It has an extremely offensive odor described as garlic like, similar to stinky feet, and like Limburger cheese. Some countries even ban the presence of durian in hotels and on public transportation due to its offensive smell.

The durian tree (Bombaceae Durio zibethius L.Murr) is native to moist equatorial forests in Southeast Asia. It can grow to 100 feet tall and produces heavy, thick-skinned, brownish-green, soccer-ball size fruits covered with sharp thorns.

“Durian” come from the word “duri” translates from Bahasa Malaysia as thorn. Therefore durian, by name is the thorny fruit. Which indeed, it is.

Each individual fruit is divided into five compartments, each containing a brown seed covered by a sac of thick, creamy pulp with an aroma that is legendary.

A popular believe is that the older the tree, the better the fruit. Durian from an older tree will bear fruits having a wrinkled texture with smooth, thick, creamy flesh that taste sweeter and have a stronger fragrance and flavour.

Usually, seed trees will start bearing fruit after about five to six years. Sometimes, four to five-year old trees can start to flower. The mature durian tree needs at least three to four weeks of dry weather to produce flowers to fill its branches. One month late, the flower will be in full bloom. Three months after that, the durian fruit will start to ripen and drop.

Durian generally bear one crop a year but may “flower” twice a year if influenced by the right conditions. Normally, durian fruits are allowed to drop when they are ripe.

However, the fruits may also be harvested from the tree, as is a common practise in Thailand. By harvesting the shelf life could be extended from nine to 11 days compared to three or four days when allowed to drop from the tree.

Durians are like grapes and wine, or like cheese. They are a food for gourmets, for connoisseurs. For genuine durian lovers, differentiating taste in accordance to variety can be a true science.

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