Unusual foods: Durian – Like stinky feet or heavenly? You decide

 

Durian is a spiky-shelled fruit that smells horrible.  Various people have compared it to combinations involving dirty gym socks, death, paint thinner, onions, and sweat.  The smell is comprised of many different compounds and what you smell just depends on which compounds your nose is more receptive to which is why the descriptions differ.  Also, less ripe and more ripe durian can smell completely different and there are many types of durian.  Finally, unscrupulous sellers sometimes try to pawn off bad durian on tourists, so many foreigners will return from Asia with durian leaving a literal and figurative bad taste in their mouths.

I tried it while I was in Thailand, both fresh and made into ice cream.  When it is frozen and then thawed it loses most of the weird smell that most people object to, leaving just a light scent left that won’t disturb anyone sitting at your table, let alone far away. (Places have been shut down for having a durian in them, and they are forbidden in many places as well).

Durian does have an intriguing and difficult to describe the flavor. The Smithsonian investigated the aroma of durian in an attempt to explain its complex and often revolting scent, finding that the odor is due to many different compounds mixing together. Durian does not have the flavors that we normally associate with fruits.  To me, it tasted like some strange version of vanilla pudding with a little soap, socks, and other flavors I couldn’t identify as food-related. Maybe some Play-Doh.  There’s a lot going on inside that spiky shell. The consistency is also unusual, being somewhat like pudding.

It is interesting to note that durian is a very healthy and nutritious fruit.  Not only does it have a lot of fiber, but it is also high in thiamine, vitamin C, and potassium and many other nutrients.  While it is generally known to foreigners as a fully ripened fruit, in Asia it is also used as a vegetable when unripe and cooked into soups and other dishes.

Durian is native to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Borneo.  It is extremely popular all over southeast Asia now and there are now farms in many nearby countries, including  Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand to appease the local aficionados.

One thing that makes it particularly interesting is that some component of durian is thought to negatively impact some enzymes that normally process alcohol.  So don’t eat durian when you are drinking.

If you want to get a taste of the sweet version of Durian at home, a Chinese candymaker has made a hard candy of the durian flavor (without the stinky feet or soap overtones). Click the pic for more.

 

Happy travels!