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Durian, Durian

The seeds can also be eaten when cooked. The name durian comes from the Malay word duri (thorn) with suffix - an.

There are hundreds of durian cultivars; most of them have a common name and a code number starting with "D". Many consumers express preferences for specific cultivars, which fetch higher prices in the market.

The flowers are produced in three to thirty clusters together on large branches and directly on the trunk with each flower having a calyx (sepals) and five (rarely four or six) petals. Durian trees have one or two flowering and fruiting periods per year, though the timing varies depending on the species, cultivars, and localities. A typical durian tree can bear fruit after four or five years. The durian fruit can hang from any branch and matures roughly three months after pollination. The fruit can grow up to long and in diameter, and typically weighs one to three kilograms (2 to 7 lb).

Since this species is open-pollinated, it shows considerable diversity in fruit colour and odour, size of flesh and seed, and tree phenology. In the species name, zibethinus refers to the Indian civet, Viverra zibetha . There is disagreement regarding whether this name, bestowed by Linnaeus, refers to civets being so fond of the durian that the fruit was used as bait to entrap them, or to the durian smelling like the civet.

There is some debate as to whether the durian is native to the Philippines, or was introduced.

The Kadayawan Festival is an annual celebration featuring the durian in Davao City. Other places where durians are grown include Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Florida, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, Polynesian Islands, Madagascar, southern China (Hainan Island), northern Australia, and Pulau Ubin island in Singapore.

In Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, the season for durians is typically from June to August, which coincides with that of the mangosteen.

British novelist Anthony Burgess writes that eating durian is "like eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory." Chef Andrew Zimmern compares the taste to "completely rotten, mushy onions." , one of the chemical compounds that may be responsible for the characteristic odour of durian Other comparisons have been made with the civet, sewage, stale vomit, skunk spray and used surgical swabs.

Durians from different species or clones can have significantly different aromas; for example, red durian ( D. dulcis ) has a deep caramel flavour with a turpentine odour while red-fleshed durian ( D. graveolens ) emits a fragrance of roasted almonds.

Some people in southern Thailand prefer their durians relatively young when the clusters of fruit within the shell are still crisp in texture and mild in flavour. In northern Thailand, the preference is for the fruit to be as soft and pungent in aroma as possible. In Malaysia and Singapore, most consumers prefer the fruit to be quite ripe and may even risk allowing the fruit to continue ripening after its husk has already cracked open. In this state, the flesh becomes richly creamy, slightly alcoholic, the aroma pronounced and the flavour highly complex.

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.

Sambal Tempoyak is a Sumatran dish made from the fermented durian fruit, coconut milk, and a collection of spicy ingredients known as sambal.

Malaysians make both sugared and salted preserves from durian. When durian is minced with salt, onions and vinegar, it is called boder . The durian seeds, which are the size of chestnuts, can be eaten whether they are boiled, roasted or fried in coconut oil, with a texture that is similar to taro or yam, but stickier. In Java, the seeds are sliced thin and cooked with sugar as a confectionery. Uncooked durian seeds are toxic due to cyclopropene fatty acids and should not be ingested.

The nectar and pollen of the durian flower that honeybees collect is an important honey source, but the characteristics of the honey are unknown.

Pregnant women or people with high blood pressure are traditionally advised not to consume durian.

The mangosteen, called as the "queen of fruits", is petite and mild in comparison. The mangosteen season coincides with that of the durian and is seen as a complement, which is probably how the mangosteen received the complementary title.

Dodoria, whose name is derived from the durian, is given a brutal appearance and a sinister role. In the Castlevania videogame series, "Rotten Durian" is an item that removes 500 HP from the character if consumed; its in-game description reads "Has introduced you to a whole new world of unpleasant odors." The game Super Mario Sunshine includes several minigames where one must throw fruit into baskets. The durian is unique among the fruit, in that it cannot be picked up because of its spiny exterior and instead must be kicked like a soccer ball into the basket. The role-playing game, Tales of Destiny includes the durian (spelt Dorian by translators) as part of the edible food list. While fairly expensive and filling, the fruit, when consumed, also comes with an additional benefit of reducing random encounters by repelling monsters, presumably with its smell. The fruit was featured in the video game Madagascar where the main character battles the final boss that spews out debilitating durian breaths, with durians also used as projectile weapons.

The durian symbolised the subjective nature of ugliness and beauty in Hong Kong director Fruit Chan's 2000 film Durian Durian (, Liulian piao piao ), and was a nickname for the reckless but lovable protagonist of the eponymous Singaporean TV comedy Durian King played by Adrian Pang.

Being a fruit much loved by a variety of wild beasts, the durian sometimes signifies the long-forgotten animalistic aspect of humans, as in the legend of Orang Mawas, the Malaysian version of Bigfoot, and Orang Pendek, its Sumatran version, both of which have been claimed to feast on durians.

Source: Wikipedia > Durian