Philosophical Vegan Forum

Durian is possibly the most polarizing food in the world.
Have you tried it? What was it like?

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




I've had it before. I love it. Like sweet cheesy garlic pudding, sort of. It's really hard to describe.

The five cells are silky-white within, and are filled with a mass of firm, cream-coloured pulp, containing about three seeds each. This pulp is the edible part, and its consistence and flavour are indescribable. A rich custard highly flavoured with almonds gives the best general idea of it, but there are occasional wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, sherry-wine, and other incongruous dishes. Then there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the pulp which nothing else possesses, but which adds to its delicacy. It is neither acid nor sweet nor juicy; yet it wants neither of these qualities, for it is in itself perfect. It produces no nausea or other bad effect, and the more you eat of it the less you feel inclined to stop. In fact, to eat Durians is a new sensation worth a voyage to the East to experience. ... as producing a food of the most exquisite flavour it is unsurpassed

- Alfred Russel Wallace, Naturalist

poll needs a third choice: Never tried it (don't know). I don't think I've ever tried it. Ive seen them in the store. I think i will purchase one this week and try.

TheVeganAtheist wrote:poll needs a third choice: Never tried it (don't know). I don't think I've ever tried it. Ive seen them in the store. I think i will purchase one this week and try.

The lack of a third choice is to encourage people to try it

In North America, they're usually frozen, and can be found in Asian markets. If you're really lucky you might find a fresh one, but it's hard to transport them all that way.
You mostly find them in Southeast Asia.
They have a strong smell, so in some places there are even laws against carrying them in public (like smoking, except Durian won't give you lung cancer).

Durian are huge, around basketball size, maybe a bit larger.

You might be able to find freeze dried Durian in an Asian market in a smaller, more manageable size. Taste is close, but the texture experience is quite different.

In going to the market tomorrow hopefully I'll see some

Sorry for the late reply.
I remembered something about the fruit, but I couldn't collect the thoughts.
Now that I've asked to my mother, she made my memory come back.
I ate it the multiple times I've been in Nepal (close to India). Yes, I loved it, just like every other fruit that was there
I don't remember much about it though, just that it was bigger than my head.

thebestofenergy wrote:Sorry for the late reply.
I remembered something about the fruit, but I couldn't collect the thoughts.
Now that I've asked to my mother, she made my memory come back.
I ate it the multiple times I've been in Nepal (close to India). Yes, I loved it, just like every other fruit that was there
I don't remember much about it though, just that it was bigger than my head.

You might have eaten Jackfruit?
It's huge (even a little bigger than Durian), and also kind of spiny. But the taste it pretty typically "fruity"

Durian would be hard to forget

One time when I was really young, I tried dogfood. I still remember exactly what it tastes like.
It's that shockingly different. (except I didn't like the dogfood, I like Durian)

brimstoneSalad wrote:You might have eaten Jackfruit?
It's huge (even a little bigger than Durian), and also kind of spiny. But the taste it pretty typically "fruity"

Durian would be hard to forget

One time when I was really young, I tried dogfood. I still remember exactly what it tastes like.
It's that shockingly different. (except I didn't like the dogfood, I like Durian)

The problem is that I ate it years and years ago. But I'm sure I ate it.
I basically ate every possible fruit we could find there, and yes I liked them all (except Cherimoya).
My favourite ones though, were and still are the varieties of Rose Apple; it's also my favourite food.
Too bad it cannot be found here in Italy.
I don't know if you can find it where you live, but if you do, you have to try it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_apple especially the first one and the last one).

I went to my local Chinese market, and found Durian, but I was too cheap to buy the whole thing. Im going to keep looking to find it in smaller quantities so I can try it before committing to a large purchase.

TheVeganAtheist wrote:I went to my local Chinese market, and found Durian, but I was too cheap to buy the whole thing. Im going to keep looking to find it in smaller quantities so I can try it before committing to a large purchase.

Yeah, they're definitely expensive outside their growing region.

Sometimes they're sold as single lobes, in Styrofoam trays with cling wrap.

Like this:

http://thaifoodandtravel.com/blog/wp-co ... ian_01.jpg

That's usually only where the turnover is pretty fast and they can sell within a day or so though.

Or you might be able to find it frozen in smaller packages like this:

http://www.icecubejunkie.com/wp-content ... urians.JPG

Wow! A durian thread!

I'm wild about the fruit. My friends know that for a special occasion like a birthday, the most-appreciated gift you can give me is a durian! I live in a big city where there are lots of East Asian markets, so they're not too difficult to find if you're willing to travel a bit. The ones here in the U.S. are generally imported from Thailand in a frozen state and then thawed. They're fine, although not quite up to the best fresh durians you can find in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

In the '60s I lived in Malaysia for two years as a United States Peace Corps volunteer and became virtually addicted to durian. I would get on my bike and ride 5 miles into town, buy a couple, and cycle back home, my mouth watering all the way.

There's a wide-spread folk tale in Malaysia, and maybe elsewhere, to the effect that if you eat durian while drinking alcohol, You. Will. Die. I'm living proof that this is nothing more than mythology.