Durian Durio zibethinus Murray

Durian Durio zibethinus Murray: While known to most South East Asia as the king of fruits it is virtually unheard of in America. Fortunately for us Mr. O is not most people and through his sources in Chinatown he was able to "acquire the package".  Strangely most of the people in the Science wing were not too pleased when we broke our 8 and a half pound specimen open to partake of its slimy yellow slug textured flesh. While the odor is often described as rotting garbage, they smell bad enough that they are banned in the subways of Singapore, ours was more reminiscent of road kill on a hot day. 

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The durian is native to Malaysia and Indonesia . The durian is a tall tree towering as high as 40m in the jungle rainforest or in semi-orchard. Seed trees may take 8-10 years to fruit. The fruit is green to brown in color, pendulous, round to oblong in shape and is completely covered with strong sharp thorns. It is a capsule which splits into five parts when ripe and each segment contains brown seeds covered with thick, firm, creamy, yellow pulp with an “overpowering” aroma. Which no doubt explains the German name for Durian Stinkfrucht The seeds are large, at 4 to 7 centimeters long and 2.5 centimeters wide. On average, an entire durian contains 13 seeds. The edible pulp covers each seed, and varies among cultivars in terms of color, texture, and thickness. It is yellowish white, pale yellow, or orange; buttery; sweet; and let us not forget very, very aromatic.

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