Title: Durian (Durio Zibethinus) Information
Categories: Fruit Info
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The durian is also known as civet-cat fruit. Baker writes: "This fruit is notorious for its pungent and rather nasty smell, which is in contrast to the sweet, pleasant taste of its flesh. It is highly prized in southeast Asia, and also grows in East Africa. Because of the smell, it is rarely exported in fresh form, but is often seen canned and incorporated into cakes and cookies.

"The fruits are large, weighing as much as 10 lb..., and are completely covered in greyish-yellow spines. The flesh is creamy-yellow, and encloses up to six large brown seeds. The flavour is so delicious that it completely makes up for the obnoxious smell. Elephants and tigers are said to be particularly partial to durians, and can detect them from far away thanks to the pervasive odour.

"It is advisable to eat fresh durian immediately, as the smell will pervade the refrigerator or anywhere else you keep it, but the pulp can be frozen in a plastic bag and will then be odourless. It can be made into fruit salad or stewed."

From "Exotic Fruits A-Z" by Josephine Baker.

In the Time/Life Books "Foods of the World" series, the "Pacific and Southeast Asian Cooking" volume says:

"Our car had stopped at a market town on the way to the mountain resort of Bandung. With my guide and interpreter, a resident of Djakarta, I stepped out to sample the local treats - mangoes, avocado, papaya and oranges. My companion exclaimed in glee and hurried over to a stall where some sausagelike objects hung from a rack. Explaining that he and his wife loved this dodol, a sticky confection of coconut milk, palm sugar and glutinous rice, he bought half a dozen and carried them back to the car, where I ate my share and more. Djakarta was only 30 miles behind us, but the shops of the national capital do not sell dodol, and although it can keep for months, no enterprising peddlers have thought of bringing it into town. Transportation in Indonesia is still so rudimentary that one can buy this potentially popular product only in the rural areas where it is made.

"A few miles on, when we pulled up at a roadside stall to haggle for a durian, I again experienced the diversity of Indonesia. Although my interpreter spoke three or four dialects as well as the national language, he could not communicate with the wizened farmer squatting beside a pile of the brown spiky fruit. But our driver knew some of the local phrases so we were able to make our purchase without having to pay heavily for the presence of a Westerner with a camera around his neck. What struck me more, however, was the fact that a countryman who lived only a few miles from his nation's capital city had no language in common with its residents.

"But he did sell good durian. Common throughout Indonesia, Malaysia and the southern Philippines, durian is one of those foods that no one can be neutral about. People who like its strong flavor and penetrating aroma (and I am one of them) cannot stop eating it once started; those not under its spell will not approach within yards of the opened fruit and will steer clear of anyone who has eaten it. Its taste is most like a robust overripe Roquefort (some people call it the cheese that grows on trees) and its aroma is mindful of overripe onions. Some airlines of the region specifically forbid passengers to take fresh durian aboard an airplane, and in an air-conditioned hotel in the Philippines I once came across a printed notice to the effect that "Firearms and durian fruit are prohibited in the rooms." None of this discourages durian-lovers. With gusto, they cut open the prickly soccer ball-sized fruit and dig out with their fingers the sticky yellow pulp - often bantering as they do so and trading anecdotes about durian's supposed aphrodisiacal value."

Researched by my mother, Agnes Corum. Posted by Cathy Harned. From: Cathy Harned Date: 07-06-94

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