Durians: Love or hate?
 

Wondering what you guys think about the Durian fruit?

It's native to southeast asia and apparently majority of westerners and asians (outside of SE Asia) alike don't like them. Either their taste or smell or both! :D

Do you like the smell?
Do you like the taste?
Do you find it disgusting or wonderful?

Personally I love them! Here's an old article from Yahoo news.

I (English) was introduced to durians by a Sino-Australian lady in DOH.

I thought they were alright. Taste and texture were OK and I had no issues with the smell. I did not understand what all the fuss was about!

Except the fact that it smells like rotten onion, the small is impossible to suppress and you will get into serious trouble if you bring them on public transport...

It's no longer a SE Asia thing anymore. You can find them in Japan, HK, China.

My neighborhood asian supermarket (here in the US) sells whole durians (not frozen) when in season along with mangosteens, jackfruit, rambutans etc so there must be a market for it.

I've tried durian fresh, as a shake and as candy, and it was as bad as...I wanted it to be. Which is to say, no thanks.

My extended family compared the smell of the Fresh Kills Landfill (former landfill in Staten Island, New York) wafting into the car, to that of durians every time we drove in/out of NJ.

So yeah, at an early age, I came not to appreciate this smell :p

We get them here in Paris too. Tang Freres sells for 8 euros/kg.

Fresh durian - hate
Durian ice cream - LOVE

I would only have fresh durian near where they are grown.

I had a friend who's family had a durian farm. Nothing compares to the morning durian that fell off the tree overnight due to ripeness into the netting.

I really wanted to like durian, but I could never get through the taste of rotten onions. My friends told me it's an acquired taste and that I would get used to it, but no. I tried durian puffs, durian ice cream, fresh durian (twice), dried durian, and durian candy. Just couldn't convince myself to like it.

The smell, while undeniably distinct, oddly doesn't bother me too much.

Seems like most of the issue is "fresh" durian. My definition of fresh is different from many of yours when it defines a durian.

It matters how fresh it is, ripe and fell off the tree that day or it has been picked and made a journey to where you acquire it.

Even in market in SE Asia where they are grown locally you cannot be sure how long the fruit has parted ways from the tree nor when/how ripe it was when it was picked.

Very good point, and true of so many fruits and vegetables in general. I couldn't stand raw tomatoes as a kid. No wonder with what passed/passes as "tomatoes" in US grocery stores. After I was introduced to REAL home-grown, so-fresh-and-and-ripe-the-skin-is-splitting-with-juiciness tomatoes, then I saw what was so wonderful about them. Not that tomatoes are durians, but I totally see what you're saying.

If I ever find myself in a durian orchard, I promise I'll give it another go with a truly fresh and perfectly ripe one.

I was recently in Singapore and tried out a "Durian and Mango sago", which is basically chunks of freshly cut durian and mango pieces mixed into a creamy puree.

The mango and the puree were delicious! The durian, not so much. I didn't mind the texture or smell (that much), but I gagged a few times at the taste.

I am a singaporean myself and i detest anything that has to do with durians. Ironic much?

Probably there are also some French people who don't like their country's more smelly cheeses. :)

On our very first trip to Singapore some years ago I was scanning through the hotel's guidebook in our room and read that "Durians are not allowed." We'd not heard of the fruit and had no Internet so spent some time speculating and fretting over what cult or group was being excluded. :o :D

We soon came to comprehend that rule. ;)