IM Finally going to try fresh Durian fruit.

After hearing about its bad stench, and seeing many people comment about it on television ( Andre Zimmern, Anthony Bourdain...), I finally found a site where I can have it delivered to my house.

Ive been tracking its course online, but they never gave a specific date of delivery. So each day, I would call home from work, asking my wife if i recieved any packages. Of course, nothing.

Today, I was arriving at home, when I saw the post man's truck parked in front of my house. I thought it was kinda strange, since we dont usually get our mail until about 4pm, an it was about noon. I got out of my car, he proceeded to hand me this unmarked box, telling me that he things I got a shipment of rotten fruit. And that normally I am his last stop, but he needed to get this box out of his truck, because it was stinking it up.:) . Inside I laughed because I knew my fruit had finally arrived.

I didnt want to open it until the kids and my wife came home, since they have seen the same episodes ive seen about the durian fruit, and have also planted durian trees on their " farmville farm", as did i.

One by one, as they entered the house, the first words were " what stinks in here". My wife followed that by, " did u get that durian fruit today". I had placed it in the garage , assuming it would be safe there, but it is unbelievable how the stench penetrates the house, even through the doors and walls.

to me , it has that smell of when u waited one day too long to change your kitchen garbage, or, the smell when u walk by a restaurant dumpster.

Anyway, I havnt tried it yet, but Ill fill everyone in on my experience about the taste.

Im so excited ( not sure why though)

larry
 
Well, we tried it, and as you might expect, it is now outside for the raccoon to eat. ( the raccoon that ate 6 of my chickens, I hope he gets diarrhea from it).

Aside from the smell, it was pasty, starchy, a little sweet. Like nothing ive ever tasted before ( and hopefully will never taste again). It just gave you that sick to your stomach feel. Rotten, natural gas, spoiled milk.... I cant really pinpoint it.
 
Yeah, and the kicker is, it cost me about $75 ( with shipping). Although, thats a lot cheaper than flying to Thailand. ( but not as cheap as going to chinatown, i guess). It was a learning experience which i dont regret, although my stomach may regret it later.
 
Huh. And here Anthony Bourdain described it as tasting like a good ripe stinky French cheese. I've certainly enjoyed my share of good ripe stinky cheeses, but none that smelled or tasted like rotting garbage, spoiled milk, or natural gas - lol!
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Geez, Larry! I don't know which is worse - the reported smell and taste of the durian or the price you paid for it!

LOL, well thanks for being adventurous and reporting on it for the rest of us!

Lee
 
Well, since im a vegetarian, I cant be adventurous in the meat dept ( alligator,frogs legs ...) so this is my way of putting myself out on a limb. As far as Anthony Bourdain goes, my guess is he had a few in him before tasting the durian, which may explain his comments :tongue:
 

homecook

New member
Well, since im a vegetarian, I cant be adventurous in the meat dept ( alligator,frogs legs ...) so this is my way of putting myself out on a limb. As far as Anthony Bourdain goes, my guess is he had a few in him before tasting the durian, which may explain his comments :tongue:

I think I'd have to agree with this. :yuk:
 
I think my stomach agrees with u. The truth is, the taste ( im not saying it is good) but wouldnt be horrible, if the smell didnt come along with it. And its not that I havnt smelled anything worse. But, its just not right to eat something that smells spoiled. And for all i know, maybe it really was spoiled , and i just dont know . :yum:
 

Fisher's Mom

Mother Superior
Super Site Supporter
I am soooo glad you posted this, Larry. I've seen the Anthony Bourdain episode and I'll admit, it piqued my interest. Anything that is illegal to take on the bus in a third world country has got to be powerful. Now, I can happily check durian off my list of stuff I am curious about.
 
Ive been curious for so long. Every time i see one of these shows, i always wonder how bad it can be. I can see why busses and hotels dont allow the fruit inside. As i said, it was in my garage, and the whole house stunk. I purposely didnt say anything to my family to see what their reaction was ( I thought maybe it was me, i was sensitive to it and knew it was there). But my wife, son and daughter, who entered the house at different times, all said " what the hell stinks in here". The taste isnt as bad as the smell. And as i said, sure, ive smelled a whole lot worse, but the thought of putting something that smells bad or rotten in your mouth, psychologically, just doenst make sense. Its kind of like trying to touch the glowing red coils on the stove. You know its hot and its going to hurt, so what would make u ever want to touch them. With the durian, you know it smells like crap, so why put it in your mouth ??
 

Mr. Green Jeans

New member
As a child I came close enough to this experience. My dad and grandfather would go to the West Side Market and buy a large Bermuda onion, coarse grain mustard, a lof of rye bread and and 1# of limburger cheese. They'd make cheese and onion sangy's washing them down with Stroh's longnecks. The whole house reaked before, during and especially after!
 

homecook

New member
As a child I came close enough to this experience. My dad and grandfather would go to the West Side Market and buy a large Bermuda onion, coarse grain mustard, a lof of rye bread and and 1# of limburger cheese. They'd make cheese and onion sangy's washing them down with Stroh's longnecks. The whole house reaked before, during and especially after!

Hahaha, that's what it was like here too!! I loved it!! I still like it to this day except I've switched to Bud.
 
K

Kimchee

Guest
So after looking at a photo of it, I do think a local Asian market gets those in
every now and then. But they never smell that I can remember.
Do they have to be cut open first?

YOu are braver than I, I think!
 
Mine stunk even through the box and plastic bag that it came in. Actually, after i cut it up, it didnt seem to be any worse. I know there is something called a " breadfruit" that looks kind of similar and doesnt smell the same

Here is the site i bought it from.

http://buydurian.com/

I also got the " cherimoya" too, that was actually pretty good.
 
Ok, so my curiosity got to me again. After the durian incedent, i basically put the durian outside, assuming some wildlife creature ( hopefully the raccoon) would eat it. There have been no takers. So, I went out and took another taste ( figuring even if it rotted, it couldnt taste any worse). And I have another analogy to describe its taste. If you have ever experienced low-tide, in a swampy area. Tried to walk through it, and got your shoes stuck in that swampy mud, The durian tastes, and smells like a sweet version of that ( im not really trying to be funny here, but i think this is a more accurate description). It wasnt horrible the second time around, I guess I should say bearable. Maybe by being open, and exposed to the fresh air for the past few days, it lost some of its potency.
 

buckytom

Grill Master
i've seen those medieval lookin' spikey footballs in an asian market near my house. i think they go for about $20 or $30 bucks a pop. i'm not sure as the sign is in korean.

i would try it for $20, but not $75!

larry, since you're a vegetarian adventurist, have you or would you ever try miracle fruit? lol, not baked beans, the musical fruit, but the miracle berries that make sour taste sweet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_fruit

i've been tempted, but i'm afraid that i'll get some weird cancer or something.
 
Never tried it, actually, never heard of it, but if i can find somewhere to get it online, id definitely give it a go. Ive tried a plant from brazil called " jambu" also known as " the tooth ache plant". Serve it on pizza in northern parts of brazil. When u eat it, it actually numbs up your mouth for a few minutes, like a topical anesthetic. I actually ordered the plant and grew it in my garden.
 

buckytom

Grill Master
i've heard that you can suck on lemons and it tastes like sweet lemonade.

this should be cool. i hope you don't get some weird cancer, too. :bounce:
 
If Andrew Zimmern hasnt caught anything from all the crap he eats, I think Ill be ok with a few berries. And if there are any other funky fruits or vegetables you are aware of, let me know. I love trying things like that.
 

buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
If Andrew Zimmern hasnt caught anything from all the crap he eats, I think Ill be ok with a few berries. And if there are any other funky fruits or vegetables you are aware of, let me know. I love trying things like that.[/QUOTE]

I guess, Larry. After reading your Durian story I'm positive you'll try anything. lol
 

abi_csi

New member
This thread is really interesting, I tried Durian fruit in SE Asia and quite enjoyed it, although it did stink of garbage for sure, it tasted nice but a bit indescribable (Papaya, Cream, almondy). I dunno if maybe it is better fresher,but it was certainly a better experience than you had.
 
Well, for me it was more the smell and the consistency than the taste. It was just hard for me to get past those two things though. I have tried 'durian flavored' candies and other products which wernt too bad. But they obviously didnt have the same consistency and they controlled the smell. The taste in these artificial products also was similar but not as exact as the real thing.
 
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