Durian, the king of fruits - Auntie Anna's fruit session

Guest writer: Anna Nilsson Spets

No, you won't find a durian in the fruit counter of your nearest grocery store, maybe in an Asian goods store, perhaps. However, anyone travelling in Asia will definitely see it and smell it... or smell it....

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Durian is the fruit that makes most people recoil from the smell, but one consolation is that it tastes much better. Stinkfruit is another common name, you can perhaps describe the smell as something between sour and rotten. Sour herring smells worse. In many places, hotels and public transport it is not allowed to bring durian, so it doesn't exactly smell like raspberries! 

The tree can grow up to 50 metres high, depending on the species, the flowers are yellowish-white, have a strong scent and are pollinated by bats, some birds and flying dogs. It takes around 3 months from flowering to harvest. 

The fruit itself can look slightly different depending on which species or variety of the durio family it comes from, ranging from round to oblong, brown to green skin, yellow to reddish flesh. The size can vary, but the maximum length is 30 cm and the weight is between 1 and 3 kg. 

The name durian comes from the Malay word for thorn; duria and it refers to the shell which is covered with a number of hard thorn-like ridges. 

The interior consists of five cream-coloured parts, each containing a pair of seeds. The seeds themselves are the size of a chestnut and are roasted, boiled or fried. 

Then there's the taste ... you could say that the creamy flesh tastes like a mixture of almonds, a little strawberry and about a hundred other indeterminate flavours, it's impossible to describe, try it! 

Many animals love durian, monkeys and elephants, tigers can smell it from almost a kilometre away. 

In Asian cuisine, durian is used in many different ways, primarily in baked goods and desserts, but also in ice cream and milkshakes. The fruit is included in many different rice dishes, depending on where you are. 

Young leaves and shoots are cooked and eaten as a leafy vegetable, in some countries the petals of the flower are eaten. 

Of course, there are many folk tales about this strange fruit. One is about a king who went to a wise man and advised him how to keep his very beautiful young wife. The wise man told the king to get eggs from a special bird, milk from a special cow and flowers from the wishing tree.

This the king did, the wise man mixed everything and buried it, and soon a beautiful tree grew up with fragrant flowers and fruits. The overjoyed king invited all the inhabitants of the kingdom to a great feast, all except the wise man who cast a curse which gave the durian its disgusting odour and sharp skin. 

So ... try a durian, it's a remarkable flavour experience! 

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Anna Nilsson Spets

60+ year old lady with a lifelong love for Africa. Emigrated to Flanders in Belgium and works with plants on a daily basis. Writes, takes photos and tries to inspire others to budget travel on their own. Blogs on "Anna's mix" about travelling, work, plants, writing and much more.

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