One of the highlights and special treats of our trip was sharing this indulgence of durian with family. Though the main season for this fruit is June to August, we feasted on three varieties and it was a joy to sit and listen to the discussions about why each person preferred a particular type.
The word 'duri' is Malay for 'thorn'. The weight of a fruit is sufficient to exert enough pressure for its thorns to be uncomfortably prickly when handling it! Despite having been cracked open by the seller, it took skill and some effort to split open the husk; just how do the orangutans and sun bears do it?
There was much debate about taste: the ratio of sweet to savoury, bitter pungency and the complexity of the flavours with notes of custard, pineapple and very ripe banana. The smell of the fruit altered from being an overpowering, warm sulphuric yet cloying sweet odour at a distance to a milder, cooler fragrance when close up layered with scents of the sweetness of vanilla, almond and the skin of peaches.
The textures were discussed too: the ratio of flesh to pit; the flesh ranging from being firm with a slight rip or crunch when biting into it through to a creamy, viscous, sticky custard.
Thank you, we ♥ durian.
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