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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Deneb on August 30, 2009, at 21:26:32
I like it, it is yummy. Very sweet. Sometimes it stinks, other times it doesn't.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian
The unusual flavour and odour of the fruit have prompted many people to express diverse and passionate views ranging from deep appreciation to intense disgust. Writing in 1856, the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace provides a much-quoted description of the flavour of the durian:
The five cells are silky-white within, and are filled with a mass of firm, cream-coloured pulp, containing about three seeds each. This pulp is the edible part, and its consistence and flavour are indescribable. A rich custard highly flavoured with almonds gives the best general idea of it, but there are occasional wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, sherry-wine, and other incongruous dishes. Then there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the pulp which nothing else possesses, but which adds to its delicacy. It is neither acid nor sweet nor juicy; yet it wants neither of these qualities, for it is in itself perfect. It produces no nausea or other bad effect, and the more you eat of it the less you feel inclined to stop. In fact, to eat Durians is a new sensation worth a voyage to the East to experience. ... as producing a food of the most exquisite flavour it is unsurpassed.[19]While Wallace cautions that "the smell of the ripe fruit is certainly at first disagreeable", later descriptions by westerners are more graphic. British novelist Anthony Burgess writes that eating durian is "like eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory."[20] Chef Andrew Zimmern compares the taste to "completely rotten, mushy onions."[21] Anthony Bourdain, while a lover of durian, relates his encounter with the fruit as thus: "Its taste can only be described as...indescribable, something you will either love or despise. ...Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother."[22] Travel and food writer Richard Sterling says:
... its odor is best described as pig-sh*t, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia.[23]
Hydrogen sulphide, one of the chemical compounds that may be responsible for the characteristic odour of durianOther comparisons have been made with the civet, sewage, stale vomit, skunk spray and used surgical swabs.[24] The wide range of descriptions for the odour of durian may have a great deal to do with the variability of durian odour itself. Durians from different species or clones can have significantly different aromas; for example, red durian (D. dulcis) has a deep caramel flavour with a turpentine odour while red-fleshed durian (D. graveolens) emits a fragrance of roasted almonds.[25] Among the varieties of D. zibethinus, Thai varieties are sweeter in flavour and less odourous than Malay ones.[4] The degree of ripeness has an effect on the flavour as well.[4] Three scientific analyses of the composition of durian aroma from 1972, 1980, and 1995 each found a mix of volatile compounds including esters, ketones, and different sulphur compounds, with no agreement on which may be primarily responsible for the distinctive odour.[4]
This strong odour can be detected half a mile away by animals, thus luring them. In addition, the fruit is extremely appetising to a variety of animals, including squirrels, mouse deer, pigs, orangutan, elephants, and even carnivorous tigers. While some of these animals eat the fruit and dispose of the seed under the parent plant, others swallow the seed with the fruit and then transport it some distance before excreting, with the seed being dispersed as a result.[26] The thorny, armoured covering of the fruit discourages smaller animals; larger animals are more likely to transport the seeds far from the parent tree.[27]
Posted by Sigismund on August 30, 2009, at 22:43:50
In reply to Anyone else like durian?, posted by Deneb on August 30, 2009, at 21:26:32
Well, I certainly like it in principle, and even liked some duran flavoured icecream I tasted in Thailand once.
The most delicious custard eaten over an open sewer, is how it was once described to me.
Quite my thing.
But we don't have it here, at any rate not fresh.
Posted by Deneb on August 30, 2009, at 22:56:02
In reply to Re: Anyone else like durian? » Deneb, posted by Sigismund on August 30, 2009, at 22:43:50
We have frozen durians here in our little Chinatown. It is strange, sometimes I think it really stinks and other times I don't think it smells that bad. It's the same with gasoline for me. Most times I hate the smell of gasoline but once in a while it smells really yummy. Durian smells OK to me most of the time. It is weird how the brain interprets smells.
I really like the rich, creamy texture. It is also very sweet. I think it is yummy.
I read it is banned in certain places in Asia.
Posted by Sigismund on August 31, 2009, at 2:35:36
In reply to Re: Anyone else like durian? » Sigismund, posted by Deneb on August 30, 2009, at 22:56:02
>I read it is banned in certain places in Asia
It might be because they are trying to be like us, which, if so, would be a pity.
Posted by Phillipa on August 31, 2009, at 12:32:36
In reply to Re: Anyone else like durian?, posted by Sigismund on August 31, 2009, at 2:35:36
Sorry never heard of it? Phillipa
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