I'm sure you've heard of this dreaded fruit. It lurks in the dark corners of your bedroom, waiting for you to make any sudden movements, but that doesn't mean it wants you to forget that it's there. It's covered in sharp points all over and it emanates the combination of the smells of rotten gym socks, feet and onions to make sure that you'll never forget its presence. To some people it smells like rotten feet in rotten gym socks covered in rotten onions. To others, it might be the smell of lunch or a quick afternoon snack.
This dread fruit is the durian of course, and even to me it smells like odd onions." A fruit should never smell that way!" is probably what you're thinking every time you see it, or screaming out-loud for everyone to hear in my case. Despite the stares of the crowd I continue to look at the fruit in fear and awe, wondering how so many people could like it. How weird would you have to be to actually enjoy a fruit that has the creamy yet slightly stringy texture of custard with the taste of pudding combined with rotten feet? Hm, about as weird as a person named Bou Shin.
I first saw the durian fruit during an episode of my favorite show "Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern". He was traveling through Thailand at the time and looked up at the netting that separated the fruit of the trees from his soft skull. The fruit that could have killed him so easily being the durian fruit also made sure to emit its pungent odor as it declared itself king of all of Thailand's botany. When the fruit dropped down and a native man opened it with a large knife, it seemed like Andrew couldn't take it. Was the fruit infested with some nasty cheese-creating fungus? Maybe the fruit copies Twilight DVDs and keeps them inside of each of its little custard-filled pods? Nope! Thats just how durian smells and seems to make even the hardest platinum-steel stomachs queasy.
How was it that a small teenage girl can love the taste but a 40-something year old man can't even stand the smell of it? It has nothing to do with who has the strongest stomach, considering that Mr. Zimmern can handle a bowl of bull intestines soup and still want a few chicken gizzards to wash it down or a way to feel mightier. Infact, I respect Mr. Zimmern as his show has taught me a lot about the world and that I'm not alone in my love for food. I especially love that he at least tries the food before criticizing it and that he has tried durian several times before. I, however, have only tried it once and enjoyed it very much and when I found it in my local Asian grocery store (frozen section) I was amazed!
I was scared that I would be wasting money, but I wanted to try something that wasn't the Kim-chi that I constantly eat. It cost about $5.50 for two large pieces of durian and I decided to share it with my mother and sister. When we opened the package we were immediately hit with the harsh, pungent smell of rotten onions. I feared that I would smell this all week but when the durian hit my dessert bowl - I knew I had to have it. I closed my nose and simply felt the custardy and slightly chalky texture of the fruit, along with its light sweetness. I decided to open my nose and as I got used to the pungent taste and flavor, I really enjoyed it. It seemed like a fun kid's food that a lot of people could enjoy, but when I turned around I could see my sister throwing the durian into the trash and my mother wiping her tongue with a paper napkin.
I was glad that I could try something that was out of the ordinary, and decided to store the rest of the durian in the freezer, where it stayed for quite some time.
This dread fruit is the durian of course, and even to me it smells like odd onions." A fruit should never smell that way!" is probably what you're thinking every time you see it, or screaming out-loud for everyone to hear in my case. Despite the stares of the crowd I continue to look at the fruit in fear and awe, wondering how so many people could like it. How weird would you have to be to actually enjoy a fruit that has the creamy yet slightly stringy texture of custard with the taste of pudding combined with rotten feet? Hm, about as weird as a person named Bou Shin.
I first saw the durian fruit during an episode of my favorite show "Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern". He was traveling through Thailand at the time and looked up at the netting that separated the fruit of the trees from his soft skull. The fruit that could have killed him so easily being the durian fruit also made sure to emit its pungent odor as it declared itself king of all of Thailand's botany. When the fruit dropped down and a native man opened it with a large knife, it seemed like Andrew couldn't take it. Was the fruit infested with some nasty cheese-creating fungus? Maybe the fruit copies Twilight DVDs and keeps them inside of each of its little custard-filled pods? Nope! Thats just how durian smells and seems to make even the hardest platinum-steel stomachs queasy.
How was it that a small teenage girl can love the taste but a 40-something year old man can't even stand the smell of it? It has nothing to do with who has the strongest stomach, considering that Mr. Zimmern can handle a bowl of bull intestines soup and still want a few chicken gizzards to wash it down or a way to feel mightier. Infact, I respect Mr. Zimmern as his show has taught me a lot about the world and that I'm not alone in my love for food. I especially love that he at least tries the food before criticizing it and that he has tried durian several times before. I, however, have only tried it once and enjoyed it very much and when I found it in my local Asian grocery store (frozen section) I was amazed!
I was scared that I would be wasting money, but I wanted to try something that wasn't the Kim-chi that I constantly eat. It cost about $5.50 for two large pieces of durian and I decided to share it with my mother and sister. When we opened the package we were immediately hit with the harsh, pungent smell of rotten onions. I feared that I would smell this all week but when the durian hit my dessert bowl - I knew I had to have it. I closed my nose and simply felt the custardy and slightly chalky texture of the fruit, along with its light sweetness. I decided to open my nose and as I got used to the pungent taste and flavor, I really enjoyed it. It seemed like a fun kid's food that a lot of people could enjoy, but when I turned around I could see my sister throwing the durian into the trash and my mother wiping her tongue with a paper napkin.
I was glad that I could try something that was out of the ordinary, and decided to store the rest of the durian in the freezer, where it stayed for quite some time.
I couldn't eat it as a snack fruit, as the smell would singe the hair off of my house-mate's noses and stay in the air for sometime, and I didn't know of anything vegan that I could do with it. That is, I didn't know of anything I could do with it until a few weeks ago when I watched an episode of "Chef Vs. City" where they went to a Thai grocery store and created a recipe for the durian.
It included vanilla, cashews, some milk, durian, cinnamon and a few other ingredients. I'll have to see the actual recipe later on (or watch the episode over again), but it seems like a good introduction of durian into a person's diet. Are you ready to go through a flavor adventure or a horrifying nightmare (depending on your taste buds)?
Signed,
<3 Bou Shin <3
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