9 Facts You Wish You Knew About Durian Earlier!!

Durian, the king of fruits is known for it's strong smell, for some, it's smelly and it's thorny skin that could seriously kill someone if you smash it onto your enemies. Durian is one of its kind, no other fruits have thorns and smells like it.

But how much do you know about durians?

I've recently visited a durian farm in Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. It's a farm located in the middle of a hill surrounded by forests. It's 30 minutes drive away from Georgetown, the main city in Pulau Pinang.

My boyfriend is a durian lover and he gave me this trip as my 27th birthday present. We drove 5 hours up north from Kuala Lumpur and we started eating durians as soon as we've checked in.

It is not our first time eating durian, but it is our first to hear facts about durian while eating. The owner asked us to join other travellers by sitting on a long bench so that we can eat more varieties of durians. The owner started by choosing 6-7 freshest durians from a few baskets. All of them were freshly dropped from the farm.

While he opens each of the durians one by one, he opened the door of durian to us. Now I'm going to share with you some of the true facts that you do not know about durian.

Fact #1: Older trees bears tastier durian than young trees.

Older trees are between 20 years and above. The durians from old and young trees are different even if they are the same breed. The durians from older trees smells more fragrant.

Fact #2: Durians are no longer fresh 3 days after it drops.

The durians are still edible after 3 days but the smell and taste is different. It'll smell worse and tastes sweet. All durians after 3 days will taste sweet. That's why most of the durians that you eat smells bad because it's been left for over 3 days.

Fact #3: Organic durian trees grows more branches.

This durian farm goes the organic way, meaning absence of pesticides, insecticides and chemicals. They use durian skins, grass, durian seeds and others as natural fertilizers. Because of this, the durian trees grows more branches.

This is organic tree

This is inorganic tree

Fact #4: One branch per durian

Durian seeds at first grow in a bunch, about a dozen. All of them fought for nutrition from a single branch. Out of 12 seeds, maybe 3-4 survived and grow into mini durian. Then workers will cut all of the durians except 1. That 1 durian will get all of the nutrients to grow into 1 big fat juicy durian.

Durians in seed-form

Mini durians

Fact #5: Organic durian trees grows more durians

Combining fact #3 and #4, clearly organic durian trees can grow more durians because the more branches, the more durians a tree can produce. Simple calculations.

Fact #6: When durian hits the ground, the taste and smell changes

This is like magic. I've tasted the same durian before and after it drops. The taste is really different. This is how the owner does. In the farm, there are nets around trees to prevent durians fell on the floor. When the workers picked those durians, the owner will halve it. We eat the first half and the owner throws the durian on the ground to simulate natural fall. The taste after the fall is better.

Fact #7: Durian tastes changes as time passes by.

There are few tastes a durian can have. Bitter, alcohol, numb, sweet and a mix of these. There are 3 stages for a durian. Early, middle and late. In each stage, the taste and smell is different. Some durians in order to get the alcohol taste, we waited for 1 hour. In the meantime, we chat.

Fact #8: There are sequences in eating durians

This is very new to me. Usually, I just eat any kinds of durian. But the owner says, the durian with the strongest tastes goes last. So that it will not cover other durian's tastes. What's magical is, the sequence might change as time passes.

Fact #9: Dogs eat durian too!

The owner has a few pet dogs. And they love durians! The owner will give any unwanted durians to his dogs and they love it!

I have a lot of fun and learned damn a lot from the owner. Thank you so much to my boyfriend for bringing me to this underrated awesome place! We'll definitely go there again!

All pictures are taken by me.

---

@tifaong writes simple and positive practices and ideas that you can learn (or re-learn) and apply in your life immediately. She covers life lessons, self-help, relationships, and motivational contents. Her mission is to spread positivity so that we can live a happier, fulfilling life.

Check out her profile here to find out more 😁

She has committed to post daily, so rest assured that you will find something new everyday.

She is also a proud member of,

#Newbieresteemday

#Greetersguild

Follow @greetersguild and join us on discord to learn more (newbies and non newbies welcome). We are always looking for more Greeters to join our team! https://discord.gg/3jYNPUx

Qurator