Durian: What do you think?

Before I moved to Thailand I had never tasted, seen, or even heard of durian. Once I arrived in South East Asia I quickly found out that it is everywhere and highly sought after. For foreigners, it seems to be one of those things where people either love it or hate it, or at least that is what is suggested.

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Durian is a large fruit, some of the more valuable ones being extremely expensive. It has a thick outer shell that is spiked and I don't know if that is a defense mechanism or not. For the uninitiated it is easy to believe that the defense mechanism of this food is definitely the extreme and rather pungent smell that emanates from it. It is one of those scents that carries, and also lingers. This is true to the point where most hotels actually ban their customers from bringing it into the hotel.

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I was staying in a hotel in Singapore once where you would be fined $500 if they caught you with a durian. You might be thinking that the staff would never know but i'll tell you, they would. The smell is extreme and you can't hide that.

There are several markets where I live and you can always find durian in them and the price varies depending on what time of year it is. The prices on these containers is in Baht, so these ones aren't too expensive. I have heard stories of certain types of this fruit during certain times of year can pull in a price tag in the thousands.

The smell and taste of the fruit was famously described by Anthony Burgess : " its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock." and it is "like eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory."

As for me personally, I am not really that bothered about it either way. If it is offered to me by someone I will eat it because I'm constantly curious what all the fuss is about. I wouldn't ever pay for it with my own money though. I guess you could say I can live with or without it.

What are your thoughts on the "King of Fruits?"