A Love Affair With Durian

Durian, durian we love you. The Durian is native to Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. Durian is a malay word meaning lots of thorns. We call it the King of Fruits. They say 'its either you love the durian or you hate it', but for me, I do eat it but I can also live without it.

The most notable characteristic about the durian is its pungent smell and distinctive taste. Some of my foreign friends say it smells and tastes like cat vomit. That's revolting, isn't it? They get a slimy feeling with goose pimples and rapid heart beat when holding the flesh. Some feel instant disgust and cannot stand the smell. Durians are banned from hotels and resorts. I guess the smell can create havoc once it gets into the air-conditioning system. The smell is a nice aroma to us and we regard the taste as heavenly. It is creamy, tastes like sweet butter scotch with almonds and better still should be a little bit bitter, like wine. It is 'finger-licking' good!

Everywhere I go, I see durians, durians and more durians! This stall in Petaling Jaya is having a durian promotion. The banner says "Eat Until You Get Full" at RM 9.00 for lower grade and RM 15.00 onwards for premium grade durians. The varieties available are Kampong Durian (Village Durian), D24, Tacka, Juiji, D96, Raja Kunyit (Tumeric King), Udang Merah (Red Shrimp) and XO.

In this stall under the shady trees, there are comfortable tables and chairs to sit on and helpers to select and open the durians for the diners. We took only durians for lunch. The owner even provided salt water for detox. If we don't want the salt water, we can order coconut water. Other fruits like rambutans and mangosteens are also sold here. Some people believe that eating durians is very 'heaty' to our body, therefore it is good to eat mangosteens or drink coconut water to 'cool' it down. These stalls enjoy very good business because many Malaysians love durians.

When I was little, eating durian was a family affair. You need some skills to choose good quality durians. When selecting durians, for example, you need to pick up the durian, observe closely, smell it, shake it and listen carefully. Strength is needed to open the fruit and you need some cloth to protect your hands from the sharp thorns. Usually, the head of the family or the guys will prised open the durian using a parang knife or chopper. But then, some mothers can do that easily too! After the durian is succesfully opened, everybody would have fun eating and sharing the durian.

Caution:

1. Do not overeat. It is a very uncomfortable feeling.

2. Do not drink alcohol immediately after eating durian. Your body may not be able to take it.

3. Not recommended for people suffering from diabetes or high cholesterol levels.

Other ways of eating durian

1. Durian ice-cream

2. Durian confectionery like cakes, dodol, biscuits, candy

3. Fermented durian called 'tempoyak' is eaten uncooked, cooked or used to make curry

4. McDonald's came up with 'durian shake' some time ago but it has been discontinued now.

5. Some people eat durian flesh with rice for lunch/dinner

6. Chilled durian is very tasty but there will be a lingering odor in the fridge

7. Durian seeds can be boiled and eaten

Something to ponder

If a durian fell from the tree onto your head, there will be serious head injuries caused by the spikes. However, we also have a malay saying, "durian runtuh" which means that getting a fallen durian brings forth unexpected fortune.