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Topics - durianwriter

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1
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Durian Island Tour Invite
« on: March 31, 2019, 11:14:53 AM »
Hi Fruit Lovers!

Just wanna let you know about a new durian tour in far eastern Thailand that's focused on the earlier season varieties -- usually our tour focuses on mid-late season varieties so I'm pretty excited that we get to share durians like Dao Kra Jai, Sai Nam Phung, Phungmanee, Chanee and Chanee Khai, Kradumthong and other Kradums, and a few other varieties.

It's also still mango season, so we will stop at a mango farm for a Thai mango degustation and also look for maprang varieties.

The tour is only 6 days, from April 27 - May 2nd and the pricing depends on how many people sign up.
All the information can be found here: https://www.yearofthedurian.com/product/durian-island-tour

Let me know if you have questions!















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Hi guys,

I just want to put it out there that the Durian and Fruit Festival I'm organizing in Penang, Malaysia, is coming up really soon! The dates are June 9-16 and 16-23.

Not to brag, guys, but this is gonna be a pretty cool event. In addition to over 20 varieties of durian, we'll have fruits like longkong, mangosteen, different varieties of rambutan, cempedak, mangoes, jambus, guava, banana, and the possibility of rambutan. We'll visit different durian gardens and learn about grafting durian and you can even collect as much seed and scion wood as you want.
We're even preparing durian-inspired dinners like durian massaman curry, durian som tam, durian caesar salad, and more!

I'm putting a link to the festival below, but please feel free to send me a message if you have questions.  Thank you! :)

This is the page ---> http://www.yearofthedurian.com/du…/bao-sheng-durian-festival
















3
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Where to buy Californian grown mangoes?
« on: August 09, 2015, 02:54:09 AM »
Hey guys,

I'm in San Diego to go to the CRFG Festival of Fruit and am headed home to visit family on Monday evening. I'm hoping to pick up some Californian grown mangoes or source a place I can mail order them. My mom is wild about mangoes and I'd love to bring her some. Thanks for any tips or leads you might be able to share!

Thanks!
DW

4

One of the first things that fascinated me about durian and still fascinates me today is the way people who like durian tend to get really into durian. I thought it was so weird, and then of course I fell down the durian rabbit hole myself.

I want to explore the attitudes and beliefs of durian lovers towards durian to see if I can understand more about what makes some of us fall in love with durian, and also why people treat durian differently than other fruits.

I'm doing both a survey and a qualitative interview (15-20 min, skype) and you can do either or both, whichever interests you. Here's the link to the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/scienceofdurianloving

Thanks very much for your help, and if you have any feedback on the survey and how I can improve doing things like this in the future, I'd be very appreciative.

If all goes well, I'll try to write an academic paper for the International Durian Symposium this June.

Much thanks!

5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Why are high fat fruits in the tropics?
« on: November 02, 2014, 09:35:44 AM »
Was doing some research on fat content of durian and comparing it to other fruits and realized -- the only "fatty" fruits I know of grow in equatorial zones.

Okay okay, olives are semi temperate. But I couldn't think of a single fatty fruit that grows anywhere cold. Like Oregon.

Is there some reason that fatty fruits evolved in the tropics but not in temperate zones? The only ideas I could come up with is something to do with fats turning solid at cooler temperatures?

Thanks!

6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / APHIS non-regulatory options?
« on: September 29, 2014, 11:15:16 PM »
I got rather long announcement email from APHIS this morning saying they were considering "non-regulatory options." Did anyone else get this email? What do they mean and how might this change things for those of us interested in bringing fruit and seeds home?

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Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Durio pinangianus
« on: August 17, 2014, 04:48:52 AM »
Did something fun this weekend :)

Will put up a post about it in the next few days. This is Durio pinangianus. A few seeds are available.




8
So, I send out a lot of seeds to mostly strangers who contact me under faith that they will pay me back. I don't usually make a profit, although I very much appreciate tips. Recently there have been a few people who have not paid me back, and have since gone MIA (ie, not responding to their email)

I understand if the Mods on this site don't think this is appropriate, but I thought it might be helpful to create a sort of public blacklist if someone doesn't pay you back for sending them seeds and then stops responding to messages. This way other people don't lose money and effort as well.

This is NOT about if there is a disagreement over payment or condition of seeds. Just pure dishonesty.

First to the list for me would be: Jose Luis Glez Garcia from Spain, who owes $8.38.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / I Found a Garcinia - What is it?
« on: August 09, 2014, 01:40:24 PM »
Today I found what looks to me like a Garcinia of some kind. It was growing in the National Forest in Penang, Malaysia. What do you think it is?


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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Mold species on seeds
« on: August 07, 2014, 03:42:19 AM »
Sometimes when I send clean seeds, they still develop a mold. I've seen a few types now, and I'm wondering if anyone knows what they are. I think it would be helpful to understand the molds (life cycle, where they come from, etc) in order to keep them off the seeds.

Mostly I see a black fuzz, a white spot, and something that makes the durian seed develop black spots.

Much thanks!

11
A friend found a few artocarpus and one mystery fruit while camping on Turtle Beach in north Penang. One I believe was artocarpus lanceifolius but I don't know the other. It is like a very tiny marang with a strong odor.

This other one is like something I had in Borneo, but could never find the name for it. It is like a tampoi on the outside but it is arranged in segments stacked haphazardly on top off each other.

We're going to go look for more tomorrow, so I'll get the pics of the leaves.

These are her pics, uploaded with her permission and curiosity.






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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Mailing Hawaiian durian to mainland US
« on: July 22, 2014, 08:44:11 PM »
Is this possible? What are the legal requirements to do so?

Thanks!

13
I just heard about this. Supposedly turmeric is being mixed with ethephon and other ripening agents after the durians are harvested in Thailand. The addition of turmeric makes the flesh more yellow than it would be otherwise.

Is this possible? Ever heard of it?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Thailand watermelon injections?
« on: May 30, 2014, 06:14:48 AM »
We're in Bangkok and I really like the watermelons here. They're super sweet, deep pink, and not mealy at all. Does anybody know what kind they are? I can't find any variety names on the net.

I've also heard rumors that they are getting injected with sugar to make them more sweet... could that possibly be true?

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Releasing my durian book on June 1st
« on: May 29, 2014, 10:40:50 AM »
Hi Fruit Lovers and Durian Freaks!

So I finally managed to finish the agrotourism guide to Thailand that I've been working on for freaking ever. I'm really really excited about this and I hope it helps fruit fanatics navigate the durian orchards and markets in Thailand!

We're releasing it on June 1st and I just wanted to let you guys know that we're going to send a link with a special discount to all the durian lovers already on our subscriber list on June 1st. If you're not on our list, I just assume you're not that into durian anyway ;)

You can find out more about the book http://www.yearofthedurian.com/p/our-ebooks.html

Much thanks to Ohiojay for proofreading for me! It's nearly 200 pages, so some serious effort and time. I feel a lot more confident releasing it knowing he read it. Much appreciation :)

16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Lychee ID help
« on: May 25, 2014, 09:09:19 PM »
Hi guys,

I found some itty bitty lychees at a market in Prachinburi. I was wondering if they might be Thailand's wild lychee, si raman. What do you think?

Thanks!


18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Refractometer recommendations
« on: April 09, 2014, 05:18:41 AM »
I want to purchase a refractometer for my next durian scouting trip in Asia. I'm interested in the way some of the "bitter" or more pungent durians that don't taste as sweet seem to be as high or even higher in sugar than the insipidly sweet durians. I want to test it out and see which durian varieties are actually the highest in sugar.

Are there multiple kinds of refractometers, and which will work better for durian flesh? I understand that they work with liquid  - will mushed up durian be thin enough or will I have to add water, and wouldn't diluting the sugar be kind of besides the point? Should I buy one in Asia, or is it something I should try to pick up before I leave Australia?

Thanks for the tips! Appreciate it  :)

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Fruit Bats and Nets
« on: February 25, 2014, 06:46:19 AM »
Hi Fruit Growers,

I have a question. I've met a few people now that use nets to protect their fruit crops from bats. But sometimes bats get stuck inside the nets, and people have no idea how to get them out in a way that is safe for both the bat and themselves.

What do you know about humanely and safely removing bats trapped in fruit netting?

Much thanks for ideas and advice.

20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Mailing seeds to Australia - navigating customs
« on: December 13, 2013, 06:56:07 AM »
Hi guys,

I'm going to be sending some durian seeds to friends in Australia soon. I did this last year as well, and ran into some trouble with the Christmas rush and quarantine. Anybody have any tips or suggestions for getting through customs ASAP and making sure the durian seeds are in primo condition when they arrive?

I've read that adding a note like "Attention Quarantine" that explains what's in the package can help.

Thanks!

21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / From the mixed-up files of Durianwriter
« on: September 23, 2013, 08:34:08 PM »
I have a photo of a durian that I am almost certain is a Puang manee, but am not 100%. Can anybody help verify/disprove the Puang manee theory? Here's two pics. I took this in Chanthaburi, Thailand, so it is most certainly NOT Musang King despite the lovely sectional star shape.

Thank you!





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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Mail Order Durian
« on: September 19, 2013, 01:22:04 AM »
Anybody know of a website where you can buy durian online?

I only know of this one: http://www.buyadurian.com/ but they don't have any contact information or way to contact them on the site, which makes me feel like it is a bit sketch. Does anyone have any experience with them?

I've also been trying to contact exoticsuperfoods.com who emailed me about 8 months ago to tell me that they will be selling Malaysian durians in California, but they are now not returning emails.

Thanks!

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Interview with Ken Love video
« on: September 12, 2013, 01:32:59 AM »
Hi Fruit lovers,

A couple weeks ago I sat down with Ken Love at the Woodstock Fruit Festival to talk to him about his experiences with durian. Ken shared some really fun stories and info about growing durian in Hawaii.

It's kind of a long interview (19 min) but I for one was hanging on his every word. I think Ken's a great story teller. Plus it was about durian, which always has my attention.

You can check it out here http://www.yearofthedurian.com/2013/09/video-interview-with-ken-love.html

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / What fruit is this?
« on: August 15, 2013, 04:15:53 AM »
Looks like a tiny durian to me :)

No, really, I think it is some sort of longan. It is spiny and orange on the outside and looks and tastes very similar to a longan on the inside. I found it in the Tenom Agricultural Park in Borneo.





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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Why do these fruits need to be soaked?
« on: August 13, 2013, 10:32:45 AM »
Hi all,

Why do litsea garcia (engkala) and Canarium Odontophyllum (Dabai) need to be soaked in warm water for 10 minutes before eating? What's the chemical change that renders them edible?

Thanks!

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