Durian makes me laugh

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
1

My cousin just sent a message to everyone in our family group about her experience today and I just had to share it:

“Funny story. My whole office just panicked over the strong scent of sulfur in the building. Time Warner cable guys across the hall insisted that we vacate immediately because it was distinctly the smell of a gas leak. Turns out… it’s the Taiwanese landlords upstairs eating durian fruit.”

15 minutes later, “People are still nervous. They just called 911 just in case.”

30 minutes later, “Firefighters have confirmed that no gas is being detected, though they too are shocked by the smell :slight_smile:”

I laughed so hard when I read this that I snorted. Personally, I can’t stand the stuff. My mom loves it though, as do several of my aunts and uncles.

Anybody else with foods in their cultural backgrounds that are similar?

2

The stuff is awesome in very small doses.

BTW, I was introduced to this on my honeymoon in Bali. Other crazily cool fruits include Salak (a.k.a. snake fruit) and the amazing Mangosteen.

My mother used to make a tomato, cabbage and short rib stew of some sort that was quite pungent, but nothing compares to Durian for sheer carrion and dead feet factor.

3

Hmmmm.

Lutefisk?

“The Power of Lutefisk”: http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~atman/ic/lutefisk.html

4

Lutefisk is subtle and delicate aromatically by comparison!

5

That is a hilarious story. Reminds me of a story that Jennifer Brennan wrote in the seminal Thai cook book: Original Thai Cookbook about a Thai emissary trying to import Durian to the US in a carry on. The fresh version of the fruit apparently expands 30,000 feet above the earth. Needless to say the passengers were perturbed but the stewardess knew exactly whatnot was.

Despite numerous attempts, I have never been able to acquire a taste for Durian, and I have tried all versions; fresh, candy, jam, tea etc.

6

There is a local restaurant that does a Durian ice cream. It is distinct and not over the top at all. Really grows on you.

7

Lutefisk is fine from a taste standpoint (slathered in melted butter as it always is).

However, Lutefisk is grotesque from a textural standpoint… Butter flavored phlegm, anyone??

8

At my local Banh Mi outlet they keep telling me to try the durian shake. No thanks.

9

Eric - your palate is far more evolved than mine. My mom would try to turn me with durian candy and I always gagged and spit it out. rolleyes

10

My first encounter was in Thailand. I was on a day trip to visit a temple with my host and his son and we stopped at a roadside stand. He insisted I try it so I took a bite and swallowed as quickly as possible. Vile stuff. He saw what I did and said, “No, no, no… you have to hold it in your mouth for a bit so the aroma surrounds your head.” [bleh.gif]

Last time we were in Singapore, one of my friends invited us to a durian party. Thankfully, these durian geeks like to have mangosteens on hand to “cleanse their palates” and those are awesome.

11

The smell is not so bad in shakes and ice creams. When fresh I find it run for the hills nauseating. But if I hold my nose the flavor is quite good.

12

I guess I am an aspiring Durian geek, as I was extolling the virtues of mangosteen above. I also strongly recommend meeting the salak. Incredible. Slightly dry, sort of like an apple (texture) meets a pineapple with a certain nuttiness. I guess. I am going off a 14 year old memory. The coolest was seeing the darned things growing. They are covered with a snakeskin like cover and grow as a mean, prickly, piney looking cluster. Fruit from another planet.

13

Embrace it, Eric! Soon you may find yourself arguing with other connoisseurs which Southeast Asian country produces the greatest durians! I’ve heard the durian tree is also pretty odd looking in a “from another planet” sort of way.

14

I really need to get back to Bali. My wife and I are hoping that we are in a position to do so for our 15th anniversary, but I think it will end up at our 20th.

15

Back in the Prodigy days Stu Yaniger organized an OL at Foxen. I put a half wheel of cold French Muenster, perfectly aged and ready, in the overhead. three hours in to the flight the stink was overwhelming and the passengers were definitely uncomfortable and complaining. I didn’t own up and ran from the plane when we landed. [snort.gif]

16

Ripe and very ripe durian are different beasts. Ripe, it smells like an open sewer but still tastes fruity, sort of like an over ripe melon. Very ripe, it does have the consistency of phlem and the added aromas of rotten cabbage on top of the sewage; but to me, it tastes like banana custard. I don’t think it’s an acquired taste, you either like it or loth it.

17

they must be in season…last Thursday evening, there was a stand at the corner of Grand Street and Bowery that was selling and opening the durians. Scooping the yellow custard into styro clamshells. Didn’t smell a thing.

18

A woman in our office had some last month. A number of us thought there was a gas leak in the building, the stench hung around for a good 15-20 minutes.

19

A local market often has fresh whole durian (Uwajimaya) as well as mangosteens, dragon fruit, etc. Two summers ago, I was resolved to try durian. I spotted them, eyeballed the price, and took one to the register. Once the price came up at around $60, I realized that the $7.99 notation had been PER POUND. But like a true proud idiot, I paid the ransom rather than admit my mistake. We cut it up in the backyard to avoid polluting the house. I couldn’t finish a single bite. The smell so overpowered my ability to appreciate the taste (and it is a flavor that I’ve appreciated in other situations since). My daughter seemed to enjoy it and ate a fair amount, even if she wasn’t up to polishing off Dad’s entire investment.

20

My favorite thing is when you walk around Thailand during Durian season (which is almost always) and every hotel has a picture of a Durian with a big line through it.