i bought one of these strange fruits today to try for the first time and it is soooo strange!! it is like a custard and the smell is so strong my family can't stand it. i don't quite know yet if i really like it or if i don't like it at all! it seems more to me like a required taste. i'm just wondering what is the best way to enjoy this fruit?

what is everyone else's opinion on durian. do you like it? can't stand it?

it's so sweet tasting! my sister said it tastes like onions lol.

I have never eaten one, but I read up on it once and did you know they can start smelling real bad all of a sudden a few days before they start rotting? Because of this, in some countries many hotels have "No Durian" signs posted. I guess many believe they are best stored and eaten outside. The way I have heard the taste described, it does sound like it would have to be an acquired taste.

I had one a few weeks ago and loved it to death. I ate half that night, and the rest in the morning. But immediately afterward, the smell and aftertaste made me a little ill.

I bought one again this past weekend--a friend was in town, and he NEEDED to try it. I ate about a see and a half and loved it again. Then, neither of us could even stand the thought of having it in the fridge.

I do think of garlic and onions with durian.
The first time, I scraped the insides of the husk with my spoon...

anyway, they're fun, but I'm not ready for another for a while.

measure twice, cut once.

"In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar." ~r.brautigan

I make paintings

applebaby,
i recently tried my first durian. i agree, the smell is quite pungent! after we opened it, the smell continued to linger for a couple of days. i kept lighting incense so it would cover it up. i personally thought it was one of the worst things i've ever smelled (and eaten). i could only eat one bite before throwing it outside in the trash. but many people are crazy about it so maybe you'll enjoy it.

There's an ice cream parlor in Vancouver with dozens of icecream flavours and the durian one has a lid on it, which is only opened to take a scoop from it. Otherwise it would stink up the whole place.
I used to eat them but haven't felt like one for many years. For me it was always love it or avoid it completely.
I wonder if they have chemicals on or in them, because some people say they feel sick after eating them and I remember feeling that way too.

that is funny about keeping a lid on only the durian ice cream! here we have gelati parlors (like ice cream) and people dare eachother to try the durian flavor because everyone always hates it.

i ate half of it last night and at first it was really different but after eating a little moer and reading up on it i really started to enjoy it !! didnt make me feel sick, i felt really good.

it's such a weird fruit !!

I am a total durian slave. I love it so much.

But, several years ago when I first tried it, the smell grossed me out so much it made me want to vomit and I really didn't like the tastse. I tried it again a year or so later and still didn't like it. I don't remember how or when it happened but at some point something clicked and now it is an obsession of mine!

The smell used to make me nauseated, now it makes me so happy! Plus the food makes me feel so good.

Keep giving it another chance!
Love,
Uma

haha my friend tried to suduce me with a durian smoothie!!!
totally didnt work but i sleep well that night anyway!
they are really good mixed with a young coconut(water and meat)and some carob powder in a blender, its like a milkshake with a weird garlic aroma, its a good way to make your friends think you are even more bizarre for being into living foods

Durian, in my experience, is a good date food. It's nice & messy to eat, and it produces a nice body high and relaxed, happy mood. I think it's known in SE Asia as an aphrodisiac.

One time a friend and I were eating it in a public place and some work crew thought there was a gas leak. They were running around checking all over, even after we told them we were eating a fruit that kinda smelled like propane. I guess that probably didn't make much sense to them so they ignored us!!

Love,
Uma





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2007 02:42AM by uma.

i think it is considered a aphrodisiac to some degree or at least a fertility thing .. i mean look at some of the pics of it ..looks like a couple of engorged ovaries ... cant get much more fertile then that

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

No intrest in ever trying it. Sounds gross. Another silly impressive raw trend And I'm sensual enough.

durian is a fruit that's been around for ages, it's not a trend. it has always been a populair fruit in (SE) Asian countries. Holland, where I live, has a big Indonesian community and Asian markets here always sell lots of durians. I never tasted one but I smelled one, ha. I heard someone once describe the taste as 'custard-like'; never heard of the onion-garlic comparison.

For me, it is trendy, being french, and having no desire to try it. I have a very keen sense of smell & just the thought of it, is gross. Of course it's been here for ages. It's a fruit. Maybe not trendy for certain cultures.

But if it's not trendy to you, Bon Appetit. Didn't mean to step on your toes.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2007 08:37AM by Rawrrr!.

you're not stepping on my toes, it's just that I've seen people eat it on a regular basis...that's all I wanted to point out. I've never tried it myself; I'm curious about it, but I'm a bit puzzled about the apparent contradiction of horrible smell - great taste.

funny that you mention you're French; I have a Dutch father and a French mother.

Durian is probably as old as humanity itself. The thing that might make it appear "trendy" is that it is not very well known in the western world (outside of the raw food community), and that it doesn't grow here, generally (although there are some farms in California starting to produce). It is a mysterious, exotic, complex, unique fruit.

Most of the tropical fruits are strongly fragranced -- bananas, pineapples, mangoes, jakfruit, etc. That durian is the strongest of all is probably just testament to its superior suitability as human food. Our noses used to lead us to food, before supermarkets. That's why smells can so readily bring to mind a previous location or occasion we experienced. Additionally, the fragrance of FRESH durian is sweet and seductive. It is the freezing of durian that causes its odor to turn unpleasant.

Anybody who doesn't like it should keep trying it, and should endeavor to get hold of a fresh one before making a final judgement. I couldn't stand to be in the same room with durian until I had the chance to try a fresh one, and I've known lots of others who had the same experience.

Frozen durians are allowed to ripen longer on the tree than the ones that are sold fresh, but the freezing ruins their delightful texture (not the taste so much). Durians that are sold fresh must be harvested green and just don't ripen sometimes. What all this means is that whether you're eating frozen or fresh durian, it's possible for the experience to be anything from disgusting to slightly orgasmic. I've had durians that were revoltingly bad and durians that were better than any cooked food I ever ate.

Learning to like durian is not a rite of passage into raw foodism, or anything else that people might try to hang on it. Durian is just an innocent fruit, and as perfect a food for humans as there ever could be. For those who are curious about the taste but don't want to deal with the mess or learning how to pick one out, freeze-dried durian is sometimes sold in Asian stores. Freeze drying is less harmful to nutrients than heat dehydration so it is a marginally acceptable transition food. Freeze dried durian is kind of like malted milk balls without the chocolate coating. The last time I checked it was available on line, although the price was roughly twice what I paid at the store.

Dreamin of durian,
Nora
www.RawSchool.com

Regards,
Nora
www.RawSchool.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2007 04:41PM by rawnora.

i thought this [www.durianpalace.com] was a pretty nifty website about durian

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I worked at a farmers market and it was there that I tried durian for the first time. I had similar experience to a few who posted here.... I devoured a bunch of it until it made me a bit nauseated. And my bro was so pissed at me when I bought it home, first he thought I farted then kept saying it smelled liked something died in the fridge. Needless to say, I was never able to get him to try some. Oh well, his lost, I liked it a lot.


~Natasha

I'm getting more and more curious! :-)