Jul 31 2010
KING OF ALL FRUITS – DURIAN
Davao City is one place that is blessed with fresh bounties such as Durian (Durio zibethinus). We experience oversupply of these smelliest of all fruits every year, on peak seasons, from September to October the price drops down to P15/kilo on all varieties. I’m a real hearty Durian bolter, I can devour a whole durian in just one sitting and takes a bath minutes after as it makes my whole body fiery. When in Davao, this king of the fruits is a must try.
The durian is commonly known as the “king of the fruits.” The name comes from the Malay word duri, meaning “thorn.”
Durians cannot be plucked from the tree. You have to wait for durians to drop. The fruit usually drops at night.
When choosing a durian, examine the quality of the stem or stalk which loses moisture as it ages. A big, solid stem is a sign of freshness.
Durians freeze well, either in the rind or just the pulp sections removed from the shell. You can keep durians that have been frozen for months.
According to Cheah Kim Wai, who has been selling durian for 7 years in Malaysia, durian should be eaten by their grades to maximize enjoyment of the fruit. “You must start by eating the lower grades first, which are much sweeter. The higher the grade, the more bitter the durians are. If you follow this technique you can truly enjoy the taste of the fruit and appreciate the difference between the grades,” says Cheah. Cheah said that if eaten in reverse, the bitter taste of the higher grade durians will overpower the taste of the lower grade ones.
Durian fruit is used to flavor a wide variety of sweet goods such as traditional Malay candy, rose biscuits, cakes, ice cream, milkshakes, mooncakes and even cappucino.
According to Durian Place, a fan site set up by durian lovers, in South-East Asia, parasitic worms can be expelled by eating durian and fevers can be reduced by drinking a tea made from the leaves and roots of the durian tree or by simply applying durian leaf juice to the head.
Thailand is currently one of the largest exporters of durian, even though the fruit is not native to the island.
The smell of a durian has been compared to overripe cheese, rotting fish, unwashed socks, a city dump on a hot summers’ day. Famed movie directors and scriptwriters Ethan and Joel Coen (known as the Coen brothers or the two-headed directors) rated durians as being among the smelliest things on earth.
Historians report that Sir Stamford Raffles, who established Singapore as a British trading post in 1819, held his nose and ran in the other direction if he so much as caught even a whiff of the dreaded fruit.
The durian is reported to be an aphrodisiac, according to several Asian folk sayings. (Source: The Raw Diet)
Hay naku, Vernz, I tried to eat Durian several time coz I lived in Bangkok for one year but to no avail. Malayo pa lang nahihimatay na ako sa amoy. I envy those who can enjoy eating that fruit.
girl at eto daw ang isa sa maka heal ng dengue, as in
way too cheaper compare to price in supermarket here.. i tasted it once.. that's why it is aphrodisiac and that makes your body fiery..
agoy naa frozen dire pero walay lami…ehehehe…mingaw nako sa durian da.
Hahayyyy!Gipalaway jud ko nimo ba!Never eaten durian for 8 years now.At least when I was in Malaysia and Thailand sa una, naa.