King of Fruits...

Durian, the King of Fruits.

This spiky, thorn-covered fruit is a native of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia and is either loved or loathed. It's referred to as the King of Fruits or the World's Smelliest Fruit. Take your pick. Either way there is no debate about it, durian stinks.

Generally weighing in at 2-7 lbs the durian has been described as smelling almond like or as some have described it as smelling more like rotten onions, turpentine or gym socks. I think I lean more towards the gym socks. Put it this way, some hotels, airports and other indoor facilities do not allow durian inside due to the distinct odour. There are even 'no durian' signs in some locations.  It has been around the western world for over 600 years and although not a native to Thailand they are the world's largest exporter of durian.

So the other day we went all over town looking for durian. We found a couple local vendors and were able to pick up several of the smelly spiky fruit. 

Durian is not opened or cut up inside the house but rather outside. Let's be honest, even durian lovers don't want their homes to have the pungent odour for weeks. Once the durian is 'cracked' open there are usually four, what I will refer to as pods, inside. Each pod has three seeds, and around these seeds is the creamy, yellowy-white fruit. For you Westerners, think of avocado, how it is creamy and not juicy, durian is similar.

And yes. I tried it. Me. Not a real adventurer. But. I did. And the texture did remind me of an avocado, the taste was what I thought somewhat sweet. I later found out that the durian we purchased was more bitter. That's the thing...durian can either be a bit bitter or sweet, who knew. Since I have never tasted it before I didn't know what to expect. But, I will admit that it was tolerable, maybe even better than tolerable. It was pleasant. However, I just can't get over the smell or the after-taste for that matter. So, I am not sure when the next time I will be lured for the need to try the King of Fruit.