So my gf dragoncat and I are going to Thailand next year. I want to try durian. What should I expect?
Vanilla pudding, with onions.
Ahhh durian.
They smell pungent. I can’t really describe what the smell reminds me of. It’s not stinky, it’s just like a sweet fruit that is extremely overripe. The flesh itself is sticky and if you eat with bare hands, will cling to it and it will smell of the fruit even after multiple hand-washing with soap. Your mouth will be filled with its smell too.
Good durian are soft and sweet, and are quite okay, if you can get past the smell. I am not overly fond of it, but either do I find myself craving for it (lots of Singaporean Chinese, as well as Malaysians, love it). It is a totally unique smell; you just have to find out for yourself.
To me, it tastes like bananas soaked in gasoline. I think I am genetically unable to taste what everyone else is tasting.
That’s what it tasted like to me when I had it in a milkshake.
Tasted like onions of some variety to me.
I thought it tasted and had the texture of very sweet custard when I had it in Jakarta. Tasted like custard with an oniony tang when I had it in Hawaii. I don’t think the Hawaii stuff was totally ripe yet.
I had some in Thailand and it was as athelas described - vanilla custard with a bit of onion finish. I didn’t mind the onion/gassy flavor, but it was over the top sweet. Definitely an unique experience.
I loved the rambutans and mangosteens that I had there though. Delicious!
Start with cookies, then ice cream, then Durian.
It took me quite a bit of exposure to it before the day came when I could smell it in the market and it registered as fruity instead of just stinky.
Onion-flavored banana. Didn’t find it very sweet, but it had been chilling in the fridge for a few hours. That might make a difference.
I thought it tasted like Rio in 1960. For about 20 minutes.
You know that chemical they put into natural gas to make a leak more detectable - t-butyl mercaptan?
Durian tastes the way that smells.
Slightly OT, but what’s the chance of getting a decent example of a durian in the eastern US? Do any stores in NYC sell it? If so, is there any chance it would be worth buying there?
IOW, I’d like to try it, but suspect I’d probably end up with an inferior specimen.
Check the freezer of an Asian grocery, that’s where I’ve seen them in my town.
The smell is that bad that Singaporean train system fines you for carrying it. People will definitely look at you if you bring it onto a bus, and you need to coax a taxi driver to carry it too.
It’s an acquired taste. If you hate it, you probably hate it for your entire lifetime.
Ditto. Durian is an acquired taste, but it’s worth acquiring.
Durian rocks.
even if you end up hating it, eating some is one of the special experiences of coming to this part of the world.
Personally I really enjoy it - but only fresh, never as ice-cream, paste, in cookies or otherwise.
As a side note, the people that I eat it with say that it is NOT to be taken with alcohol, not exactly sure what is up with that. I have taken it with small amounts with no side effects, but never rolling drunk so can’t really say.
I have never tried it, would love to, though, but a friend has described it like eating pineapple inside a urinal that hasn’t been cleaned for the last ten years.
rotten pineapple…
I’ve wanted to try it but never had access to properly ripened fruit.
Someone here at work left a bag of durian candies in the kitchen with a sticky that said “FREE!” I took a couple home. The taste reminded me of penicillan.