Durian
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Fruits are widely available, cheap and delicious in Thailand. One of the most unique fruits in Thailand is the Durian. If you read any guidebook on Thailand’s food, you will probably find mention of the Durian fruit and how it is either loved and adored or hated and dispised by people. Since it’s available only on certain months, is very unique in odor and can be eaten in several ways, but should not be eaten by people with certain health conditions, one has to know a bit about the Durian fruit before he or she can truly come to appreciate it. That’s exactly what you will get from reading this – a basic introduction to the Durian fruit.
Durian, or “The King of Fruits” as it’s called in Southeast Asia (and if you want to impress someone you can call it Durio kutejensis) usually weights around 2-7 pounds (1-3 kilogram) and is about as big as a watermelon. It has a thorn covered husk, is green, but once you open it the edible clusters of fruit are yellow.
Most people who visit Thailand are there between November to February – but it’s really hard to find good Durians during that season, because in Thailand Durian is still on the trees in that period. Durian is widely available in Thailand from April to June, and that’s the best time to eat it.
When selecting a durian you should look at the stem. A stem should be big and strong. If it’s not, if it already has dried a little bit, it’s already an old durian. Also, shake it a bit if in doubt. If you can hear the seeds moving inside, then it’s also not fresh anymore.
Most people like it when the fruit is ripe and soft. Specially in northern Thailand it is eaten at it’s ripest point, where it’s the softest and has the strongest odor.
In Southern Thailand though people prefer their Durians young and strong, with a mild flavor. So you can see the preferences are different.
Me personally, I like Durian pretty ripe and soft (when it’s similar to room-warm Camenbert). If it’s to strong, the taste is milder, but it’s also more boring, less flavorful and kind of “wooden” to me.
The taste and smell of Durian are what make it so popular. Some people hate it and find it disgusting, and in fact some hotels even don’t allow you to bring Durian inside because of it’s “pungent” smell. I remember eating Durian for the first time – I thought it was the last time I’d eat it, because I did not like it at all. However, a couple of years later I was sitting with some Thai friends who enjoyed a durian and seeing them indulding themselves made me try it again – and that’s when I totally fell in love with this fruit. I won’t argue about the smell (not good, specially the smell of your mouth once you’ve eaten it – if your partner kisses you after you’ve eaten a Durian, you’re in a solid relationship). But the taste is extremely delicious, it’s somewhere between fruit and cheese (weird combination? Yeah, sounds weird, but tastes delicious!)
In general it’s a good idea to eat it in combination with Mangosteen (or “Mankood” as Thai people call it) which is also ripe between April and June in Thailand. This is because Mangosteen has a cooling effect that balances out the heating effect of the Durian.
In Thailand it’s common to attribute properties like “cooling”, “heating” or “neutral” to foods. Watermelon for example is a cooling fruit, while Durian is a heating fruit. It’s heating property is also the reason why pregnant woman and people with high blood pressure are generally advised not to eat it. (It’s not that it is threating or dangerous – it’s just not beneficial to eat it, just like eating a candy bar is not beneficial for your health).
So, as you can see Durian is a really interesting fruit and once you have tasted it you will remember it for life – whether you like it or not. And some people who didn’t like Durian the first time the tried it might finally come to love it once they gave it another try. Remember, selecting the right one is already a big part in enjoying it, and eating it in combination with mangosteen is the way to go. So, next time you have a chance, give Durian a try.
