Why no durians
Seussian spiky ball of flan that grows on trees. An old adage about the fruit sums up the conflict inherent within; they taste like heaven and smell like hell.
Yes, durian draws its despicable reputation from its uniquely polarizing scent. And man oh man, what a scent it is. A team of scientists led by Jia-Ziao Li charted 50 individual compounds in durian responsible for its overwhelming fragrance using mass spectrometer and gas chromatography, including four compounds previously unknown to science.
The palette of compounds are, on their own, responsible for creating the smells associated with roasted onion, garlic, rubber, cooked beef, leeks, honey, metal, dried squid and yeast.
And while each of these genetic triggers are positively interpreted on their own by the human nose, they form a perverse sort of gastronomic Voltron when they combine to form the durian genome. The science behind incredibly aromatic fruit actually makes a great deal of sense. In that way, modern durian is the product of a brilliant evolution. But I wanted to know what would happen if we did get caught, so I called the Bangkok Metro phone number here. There is a sign at the entrance. As far as I know, the only place you can actually incur a fine for bringing durian on the premises is your hotel.
Not all hotels have a problem with durian. If someone does smell your durian, the staff will politely remind you of their policy and ask you to remove the durian from the premises.
This one captures the magic moment of group of friends sharing a durian. So try not to make other people suffer. Contain the durian stink as best as you can.
Multiple layers of wrapped and sealed plastic usually does the trick. If your durian has been removed from the shell, a plastic container that seals well and several ziplock baggies will make sure that odor stays where you want it.
But if you do get caught, just hand it over. Or better, transport it already inside your stomach. My wife i Chinese and actually loves the taste of durian.
She has bought a fresh one and opened it up in the kitchen and I was simply disgusted!!! It stinks to high heaven! She just laughed at me and continued to eat it. Yesterday, she brought home some frozen durian. She dared me to try it. She told me that I could easily spit it out into the sink. I did actually try it and thought that I was going to throw up! It was horrible!!! Did taste like what I would have imagine dog poop would have tasted like. I do not advise anyone to ever try it.
It is really terrible!!!! LOL, enjoyed your bold story! As someone who is really repulsed and allergic to artificial products, natural odors are annoying sometimes, but not setting off the histamines like perfumes, cleaning products, bleach, other petroleum products etc. Fans say if you can get past the stink, the flesh has an ambrosial taste.
While durians have long been available in Chinese supermarkets around Britain, this is the first time the prized Malaysian variety has been on sale in the UK, although thus far it is restricted to Loon Fung stores in London.
Musang kings are left to ripen naturally on the tree; the growers spread large nets underneath and wait for them to fall. They are collected and vacuum-packed on the same day to preserve their ripeness.
The fruits don't smell while still in their packaging, promises a spokesperson for Malaysia Kitchen , which promotes Malaysian food in the UK. Once you open the packaging, however, you're on your own. Do it in the garden, or at least with all the windows flung open. Masterchef winner and chef Tim Anderson is coming round to durians. The smell is so strange: onions and meat, if I'm being charitable.