8 ms·
The Durian King
- neonate 7y agohttp://archive.is/6PmVL http://archive.is/6PmVL
- asaph 7y ago"If it doesn’t stink, it’s not durian." - Tan Eow Chong
- Mengkudulangsat 7y agoI wish Malaysians substitute palm oil monoculture with this. It's a tall local species, which is a lot more accommodating to wildlife.
- ShorsHammer 7y agoNo one really likes Durian outside of the region, it's not popular. Should they plant canola instead? It will require 4x the land. Will the EU (who are some of the biggest exporters of palm oil alternatives) replant the extensive forests they tore down for agriculture in the last century or is it a kick the ladder down type situation? I'm a big conservationist and active in SEA, the current attitude of the EU is absurdly unproductive and has gotten most of the population offside, Malaysia needs uncut tracts of rainforest and guaranteed protected regions, this is possible to do, dickheads with moustaches in Belgium aren't helping the situation. Another alternative is avoiding monoculture plantations altogether, but that doesn't seem to work anywhere on Earth.
- Mengkudulangsat 7y agoI'm a Malaysian who in the past managed two agriculture private equity funds. I've engaged with dozens of local farmers of over the years. The problem with palm oil monoculture is that it is so easy that it makes its practitioners complacent. The value chains are established, the prices are commoditized (there is a local futures market) and there is ample government backing for international lobbying. Unfortunately, this means that the value-add (and margins) at each step of the value chain is now really thin. Unless you are vertically integrated and operate at enormous scale, you won't make much. Short, high-value, local-farm-to-plate, gourmet-ingredient agriculture is what I dream of, sort of like what the Japanese have. It doesn't always have to devolve into mega-agribusiness.
- geomark 7y agoIn Thailand (only) they now have durian pizza. Which disturbs me a lot more than I think it should. https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/ooh-eww-pizza-company-thailand-now-serves-durian-pizza/ https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/ooh-eww-pizza-company-thail...
- fiblye 7y agoDurian pizza is relatively common in China if you know where to look.
- nneonneo 7y agoBy “know where to look”, one usually just has to go to any Pizza Hut (必胜客), which are very common in larger cities. I’ve tried the durian pizza before, and it’s actually quite good, even though I’m not a big fan of durian itself. Something about cheese and durian together works for my palate. (Pizza Hut in China, it must be said, barely resembles it’s American counterpart; in China, it’s a moderately upscale Italian family restaurant which happens to specialize in pizza and pasta.)
- yladiz 7y agoI think it’s because durian has a somewhat onion like taste and so I could see how it pairs well with cheese.
- ekianjo 7y agoWhile it's nicknamed the King of Fruits, I can't say I have ever liked that much the taste of Durians (While I eat and enjoy pretty much all exotic fruits). I wonder if one needs to have tasted Durian during childhood or something in order to have the tongue for it?
- iammiles 7y agoI sampled durian for the first time while on a trip to Singapore a couple of months ago and absolutely loved it. I will admit that it has a very particular pungent flavor so I can see why it puts off so many people. Probably not so different as some cheeses.
- CraftThatBlock 7y agoI think it might be. We had some at my workplace as a celebration and most of us disliked it, however one (of Chinese decent I believe) told us he had it in his childhood and loved it.
- gambiting 7y agoI've never had it before and I tried some just recently - thought it was very delicious.
- distantaidenn 7y agoDidn't try it until I moved to Bangkok in my early 30s. First time I had it I gagged - - not because I found it disgusting, but rather, it was just so different to my American palate. Second time it tasted of a onion based custard that I could stomach, but live without. Third and all subsequent times, it tasted like ice cream with a slight pungent background that I needed every night. I was hunting for the good stuff as well as any local. You don't have to grow up on the fruit to enjoy it, but it is definitely an acquired taste that can be gained in the adult years as well.
- thinkingemote 7y agoPeople in the west like coconut water having been exposed to it only recently. And yet there are vast areas of the east where coconut water is meant to taste like death and rot. Bizarre
- dmix 7y ago> China’s massive unmet demand for durian is the prime reason the Hong Kong consulting firm Plantations International predicts that the global market for raw durian will reach $25 billion by 2030 — up from $15 billion in 2016. It's amazing how much wealth China is generating in all of the smaller surrounding Asian countries.
- vdas 7y agoI live in Malaysia. We are right in the middle of durian season (May to August). Musang King costs Ringgit Malaysia(RM)48 per kg. That is around USD12/kg or (USD5.45/pound). So a single Musang King durian will cost around RM60 per fruit (USD14.50/fruit). I usually buy slightly lesser quality durian at RM38/kg. The seller will help to choose a fruit that is ripe and creamy but not overripe. You can take home the partially opened fruit or just transfer it to a styrofoam container that you put in the fridge when you get home. Musang King has smaller seeds and is creamier than what I usually buy. But the less expensive fruit is good enough for me since I buy durian pretty often. If you had a durian orchard why would you grow fruit that does not taste good? If I were a durian farmer I certainly would not. The difference in quality between Musang King and the others is not that noticeable. My friends from India who visit me just hate the smell because it (sorry to be so graphic!) smells like fruity poo and refuse to taste it or taste it with a cringing expression. I'm sure that other people have the same reaction. But if you do visit Malaysia (or another durian country such as Singapore or Thailand -- both remarkable countries for food as well), you should partake. It is the closest you will come to eating palkova from a tree.
- rorykoehler 7y agoI'm Irish and I really like Durian. The flavour and character can really change amongst different varieties too.
- ianai 7y agoHow do you most often eat it? Raw? With some condiment?
- czl_my 7y agoYes, also at room temperature
- vdas 7y agoYou would eat the flesh raw and discard the seeds. Some people like to pair durians with mangosteens[0]. Durian burps have a strange aftertaste so most people I know avoid drinking carbonated drinks (i.e. Coke, Pepsi) while eating durian. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangosteen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangosteen
- uptownfunk 7y agoHas anyone gotten it to fruit in America? I’d consider taking a trip to a durian farm if I could get freshly fallen Durian. Jackfruit is another one of my favorites in the tropical fruit world.
- anthony_doan 7y agoYes, I eat them all the time. The easiest way to get them is frozen at an Asian super market. It's already taken out of it's shell and put in an air seal bag then in a plastic box. Some Asian super market have the whole fruit frozen. There are specialized places that import just exotic fruits we have one here in Alhambra near Pasadena iirc. My parent just bought a jackfruit awhile ago from the specialty fruit importer store. We had to wait for a few days for it to ripe before eating.
- new2628 7y agoThe question asked whether it grows in America.
- anthony_doan 7y agoThank you for the clarification. I didn't realize fruit means grows.
- new2628 7y agoIt is quite rare to use it as a verb to be honest.
- Moto7451 7y agoPuerto Rico and Hawaii apparently farm Durian. https://www.yearofthedurian.com/2013/09/durian-in-puerto-rico.html https://www.yearofthedurian.com/2013/09/durian-in-puerto-ric... https://www.yearofthedurian.com/2016/09/mailing-fresh-durian-hawaii.html https://www.yearofthedurian.com/2016/09/mailing-fresh-durian...
- callmeal 7y ago
- kenneth 7y agoIf you live in San Francisco, the restaurant China Live has Durian ice cream that actually is rather delicious. Only good tasting Durian dish I've ever had. I absolutely hate the smell of the fruit and don't particularly like the slimey texture either.
- beautifulfreak 7y agoAre there other fruits that look like durian but are different inside? I once ate an odd fruit which grew on a Caribbean island. It had black seeds and creamy white flesh surrounding the seeds, was very sweet and not tart.
- personjerry 7y agoDragonfruit?
- phreanix 7y agoLook up lanka fruit
- nsomaru 7y agoThere’s a fruit called seetafel (custard apple) that sounds very similar to this. It’s amazing!
- beautifulfreak 7y agoI think that's it!
- cusx 7y agoSoursop? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soursop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soursop
- beautifulfreak 7y agoThanks. That could be it, too. The description fits what I had.
- colordrops 7y agoCherimoya?
- dEnigma 7y ago
- max23_ 7y ago> “The Musang King is my favorite,” said Teh Bin Tean, a Singaporean researcher who has studied the durian genome. “Don’t try it first because the rest is all downhill.” I wouldn't say the rest would be all downhill, there are many types of durian and each has its own unique taste (I personally like the sweet & bitter one).
- Taniwha 7y agoI once worked somewhere where a coworker declared "if the bug is in my code I'll eat a durian" We made him do it outside
- lilsammy 7y agoBefore I ate Durian, it always smelled really bad to me. Now, it just smells strong. The problem with buying it in the US is that the good ones cost $10/lb.
- jasonlingx 7y agoMy grandparents had a durian plantation in Sibu, a small town in East Malaysia. During the season we would camp out there for days, waiting for the sound of a fruit dropping and then running out to retrieve it. We had to sell it after my grandfather passed. Interestingly, they say the best durians (from Malaysia) can hardly be found in Malaysia as they are all brought to Singapore where they fetch a much higher price. I wrote a love song to durians which I released a few weeks back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylX-HLGgI8E&list=PLB5PnPqPHuGXScyA0UDMIoxGscESWZhNY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylX-HLGgI8E&list=PLB5PnPqPHu...
- rayiner 7y agoI can’t believe nobody commented on the theft: > The fruit came from a nearby orchard. Tan asked whether he could have a branch to graft onto one of his trees, but the woman shooed away the idea. So that evening he returned with a villager armed with a rifle. At Tan’s instructions, and for pay, the man pruned a footlong branch with a well-placed shot.
- danso 7y agoThe ending to the story, describing the younger Tans' paranoia of rivals poisoning and stealing his durian trees, suggests that maybe sometime in the future, we might get an epic story akin to "The Orchid Thief", but about durian thievery and conflict: > On the cusp of the peak durian harvest, which starts each June, he often sleeps in a hammock on the family plantations, guarding ripening fruits from thieves. Durian farming is a cutthroat business. Rivals are suspected of poisoning some of his experimental durian trees. His biggest fear, however, is that someone steals a branch from one of his new hybrid trees, just like his father did so many years earlier.
- prvc 7y agoSo since he managed to avoid prosecution from the initial theft, he is presumably in the clear? Wished the article had touched on this question.
- sfsfsf6666 7y agoBefore I knew what durian was, I and a close friend were served some by his Honduran wife. I having a dumpster stomach, and have been known to eat anything, took the biggest piece and popped it in my mouth and started chewing. That's when I got hit by a number of flavors. The flavors were not powerful, all of them just teasing. But I got them none the less. Rancid sock. Sweetness. Turpentine. Death. After the experience, I felt that the fruit was not largely available, not local, not my cup of tea. Goodbye durian.