The durian fruit grows on trees and is often referred to as
the 'King of Fruits'.
It is easy to recognise for its large size, thorny-looking skin or husk, and its distinctive odour. The fruit can grow up to 30 cm in length and 15 cm in diameter and can weigh up to 3 kgs.
It is popular in Southeast Asia and is The spiky tough outer skin protects the soft yellow-white flesh, which is the part you eat and the part that gives the fruit its infamous smell. People usually describe the smell of this flesh as either fragrant or overpowering and offensive. The odour of the ripe fruit is strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact, and due to its penetrating reach, the durian is often forbidden in hotels and on public transport in Southeast Asia. The odour has prompted many people to formulate evocative descriptions with views ranging from those of deep appreciation to intense disgust.
How do you eat it?
The flesh can be eaten at various stages of ripeness and is used to flavour a wide variety of savoury and sweet dishes in Southeast Asian cuisines. The seeds can also be eaten when cooked.
In some regions the durian fruit is considered ready to eat when its husk begins to crack. However, the usual advice is to examine the quality of the stem or stalk, which loses moisture as it ages: a big, solid stem is a sign of freshness. Another frequent piece of advice is to shake the fruit and listen for the sound of the seeds moving within, indicating the durian is very ripe and the pulp has dried out a bit.
As a durian approaches ripeness, the tough rind should allow you to part it or 'unzip it' from end to end along hidden suture lines between the inner sections (or locules).
Left to itself, as ripeness progresses, the durian naturally starts cracking open from the bottom end.
You can eat the fruit straight from the husk, or slice it and eat with other fruits. Don't eat the uncooked seeds as these can be toxic.
Durian fruit is used to flavour a wide variety of sweet treats such as traditional Malay candy, ice kachang, dodol, rose biscuits, and, with a touch of modern innovation, ice cream, milkshakes, and mooncakes. Pulut Durian is glutinous rice steamed with coconut milk and served with ripened durian. In Sabah, red durian is fried with onions and chilli and served as a side dish. Red-fleshed durian is traditionally added to sayur, an Indonesian soup made from fresh water fish. Ikan brengkes is fish cooked in a durian-based sauce, traditional in Sumatra.
When you've had your fill, you can remove the odour of durian from your hands by washing them with the durian seeds..
Sound durian fruit will store satisfactorily in refrigeration for up to 3 weeks at 59º F. [15º C.]
This information has been sourced and edited from www.durianpalace.com/eat.htm; and www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durianen.wikipedia.org. Visit these for more information.
|