Pointy Pointy

I bought my first durian this week! Finally, after nearly a year of searching the area's local Asian markets to no avail, the newly opened Fresh World that sprouted around the corner from my house had the King Of Fruits sitting right out in front of the produce section as if they knew that we had a pre-destined date with fate. I ganked the picture above from a raw foods blog since my camera is MIA, but my durian looked a lot like that one when I bought it. I failed to do the "durian test" and shake it before buying to see if it was ripe, which would make a sloshing sound if it was ready to be eaten. Mine made no sound whatsoever, which would often indicate either not ripe or waterlogged. However, I kept the whole fruit in the freezer for a few days before I decided to tackle it, and I gotta tell ya, I was durn intimidated. This puppy was the size of my noggin, and I have heard the thing's stink to high heaven, which is why I kept it in the freezer in case it started to open on its own and permeate the entire house with what I have read to be a combination of pig feces and sewage. Joe would have kittens if he came home to that stench, delicate olfactory reactions that he has. Not that I want that either.

So after it thawed a few hours I took it into the back yard and set it on the patio table, with a Ziplock bag and a long, sharp knife. Stabbing downward into the pointy husky and pulling downward, I was braced for the foul miasma I expected to come wafting out once I got my fingers in there and pryed it open (I only wish it looked as clean and even as the photo does above). But to my surprise there really wasn't anything to smell, aside from a vague, outdoorsy scent that reminded me at that moment of wet, rotting pine cones. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the durian had not completely thawed yet, because the custard pulp inside was still partially frozen, but as I scooped it out of each pod with my hands to place into the Ziplock bag I licked my frozen fingers, letting them thaw in my mouth, and going "Ooooooh... myyyy..."

It's a hard taste to describe. The texture is like custard, with a thicker, more taffy-like consistency closer to the seed, white-ish yellow with a sort of milky almond flavor and very sweet. I was still really surprised that I didn't smell anything specific. But after cleaning out the fruit I placed the pulp in the freezer to give it a more ice cream-like texture, and later I did sense something... what I couldn't quite place my finger. Joe nailed it: Kitty litter. He said the gritty, frozen texture of the fruit smelled and therefore tasted what he imagined kitty litter would smell and taste. And he was right! (this is why signs like the one above are found in Asian airports along with no smoking, etc) I recommend the fruit in its unfrozen form more than frozen, where its soft creaminess and subtle flavor go down a touch easier. Other than that and the rather off-putting TidyCat aroma I'm willing to try the experience again. But this is what has been exciting about this raw food experiment. Just next time I'm not getting a durian the size of my left tit.