Steady trickle of exotic fruits in the stores

Needless to say, I was the only one eating it.

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I’ve never had it… I heard it’s a mix of tropics and baby diapers… Did u enjoy it?

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If you like it that’s all that matters. I personally thing it looks disgusting. Almost like those buried fetus eggs they sell in the far east. A friend of mine visited Singapore a few years back and brought a bag of durian chips to work. They did smell horrible. Taste was not much better. Tasted like a rotten banana chip to me. I’m sure it’s much better fresh

Warm, I do like it a lot. This one in the pic was a bit over ripe. Once it gets to that stage, the texture is very soft and has a bitter after taste. The more over-ripe, the bitter it becomes. I usually like it a bit firmer as it can be sweet and crunchy and does not have the very pungent smell. If I can’t find the just right one, I prefer under ripe to over-ripe durian.

When I first heard Americans comparing durian to all kinds of awful things, I was offended. Then, I realize that it’s the same way I feel about cheese. I describe stinky cheeses with all kinds of names, too.

These days, I am not offended at all. In fact, I like reading how American people describe durian’s look, taste, texture and smell. You guys are so creative with words. I laughed out loud sometimes…

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You should watch Jimmy Kimmel when he tried it…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIYeWH7cjWg

He had never even heard of it (and i thought he was a foodie)… I’d love to try it, but i can’t even find it frozen around here. Maybe sometime if i get to Madison/Minneapolis I’ll try to find some. I’ve had a lot of canned mangosteen/lychees and i eat a ton of mangoes…we actually prefer the frozen mangoes to fresh most of the time, although that depends on the variety in season (some of the varieties are so stringy)…

I love cheese, but some of it can be too much… I prefer a sharp cheddar to anything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og5e6wLIU18

What about this video? My husband and my daughter have a good laugh about it.

By the way, none of these people know how to open up a durian. You just insert the tip of a knife at the bottom of a durian and twist. An about to ripe, or just ripe durian will crack along the line between those sections. No need to cut the whole fruit in half. You do need to wear gloves so you can pull those sections apart.

You cannot hide a durian in any room, its smell is very strong. It will get noticed. No hotel allows you to bring it in as the smell stays in the carpet for a long time.

kimmel does not understand why people like durian, and chastain can’t explain why she loves it either, evidently one of the greatest mysteries in the universe.
and as with most durian lovers, it is funny how she somewhat felt bad that kimmel didn’t want it.
i kind of felt bad too, not just for kimmel, but also for jessica, because like her, i find durian pretty darn good and would like to introduce it to other people…

unfortunately not the case between dried and fresh(although the taste would be radically different), and between frozen and fresh, as the frozen durian pretty much tastes the same as when eating it fresh, save for the ice crystals.

Juju,

I beg to differ re. fresh vs frozen durian. The one I tried, frozen texture tasted awful. It, in turn, ruin the taste, too. Many of my Thai friends agree. We eat frozen here because we had no choice. Now that I have a choice, I’d not touch frozen.

Clark - I think they were $3.99 / lb. So not cheap but not outrageous either. They were somewhere right at the just starting to soften stage. A worthwhile choice.

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Interesting… a lot of fruits i prefer frozen.

If i could only grow one tropical it would be mangoes.

That is interesting to hear that they are hardy. I will look into them… maybe as a graft on one of my plums next year if I can find scions.

fresh is always better, of course! The frozen durian they sell here in vegas are excellent btw, and not too shabby(and just as smelly, lol) compared to the best ones i’ve had fresh.

I like almost all forzen fruit. I freeze grapes or other fruits because it taste like sorbet… For durian, I have a certain expectation of texture and taste. Forzen durian makes its texture off. However since you are not a durian snob, you will be fine with frozen one.

Hopefully, you will have an opportunity soon. As Clark mentioned, exotic fruit are coming to a store near you.

I agreed that fresh Durian texture and richness of flavor are far better than frozen. My Grandma used to own a tropical fruits farm. I remembered my Grandma said that the best way to pick a good and ripe Durian was by the smell of the skin and the bottom end split a little bit.

Tony

Mamuang,
I really enjoyed mangosteen but I’m not sure everyone would.

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jujubemulberry ,
Those mangos look wonderful! What a great price!

Mangosteen is a super fruit as its flesh, skin/rind, bark, leaves are supposed to have medicinal property. I just eat the flesh. Rind has tannin and tastes astringently. I avoid accidently biting on the rind.

If you want to try, cutting it in the middle all around the fruit and open it up like a cup with a lid. Does it matter which way you cut it? No. Just want to share with you how we cut it up and eat it. It looks pretty that way :grinning:

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pretty crazy price right? and really happy that people making minimum wage can now afford what used to be a pricey tropical novelty… 6 manila mangos for 1$ is like getting it at 3 to 4 lbs for just a buck

it borders on being inconsiderate if not outright arrogance-- pitching a fruit for its excellent nutritional qualities and luxurious taste-- if the masses can’t afford it… No longer the case, evidently.

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Juju,

You may like what my wife just bought for me. Two jack fruits imported from Mexico.

Tony

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i see it was also sold by ‘abeeo’, which is the major distributor of jackfruits here too.
it is a lot of work cutting it up, but truly worth the effort and so pretty once have them in ziploc baggies.

evidently your wife loves you! But let me ask you this, will she butcher and prepare it for you too? Or is that asking too much? :grin: