Author Topic: A durian tour in Thailand  (Read 5775 times)

TropicalFruitHunters

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1384
    • USA, Columbus, OH, xxxxx Zone 5b
    • View Profile
    • Tropical Fruit Hunters
A durian tour in Thailand
« on: September 16, 2012, 08:53:58 PM »
I just watched the attached video with my wife.  All talking is in Thai but I will write down what is actually happening in the video.  Once you read the following, you will be able to pretty much follow the video rather well.  They are in Chantaburi.

- Opens up with him eating a bunch of fruit.  Longkong is his favorite but has never tried durian.  He wants to go where there is lots of durian.
- He's directed to a large wholesale market called Thalad Nun Sung.  It is the central location where most durian come in for export...international as well as local.
- He wants to see a durian farm or nursery.  The guys tell him there is a place close by but he must help unload the truck first.
- At a fruit farm that grows and sells durian, rambutan, mangosteen, and longkong.  Diversify.
- Gets to taste some fruit.
- They take him to one of the trees that produce huge amounts of fruit.
- Asks about using a ladder.  Demonstrates by climbing the tree...asks him to move out some in case a fruit is dropped.  Don't want it landing on his head!
- He wants to try catching and the guy shows him how.  Practices with a tiny little fruit!!
- Asks how they know which to cut.  Says the spikes start to turn brown and dry up.  Seams start to dry up and crack.  The stem has a knot that bows out more.
- The only tools used are a burlap sack and a knife.
- Ready to taste one.  The one he is holding is not ready and he asks how the guy knows.  Sound and smell he's told.  Taps the fruit to hear the difference.
- Cuts the seam from top down.  Pulls aparts, then cuts middle and pulls.
- Says it doesn't smell as strong as he thought it would.  Sweet with a little bitterness at the end.  Tastes pretty good.  Easy to eat.  Creamy.  He now understands why Thais love them.
- The next fruit is called durian blalah.  Blalah is a delicacy in Thailand of fish that has been fermented for over a year.  You can just imagine what the smell is like!  Durians, regardless of the variety, that reach this stage of ripeness are called durian blalah.  Not very popular and not sold much except to a select market. 
- The guy taps the fruit and says it sounds like a bloated stomach!
- Color is more intense.  Soft and mushy.  He says it smells like an overflowing toilet!!  Eats eat and says he doesn't understand how Thai people can eat this.  Like a fruit that has gone bad.
- This stage of ripeness...the fruit usually goes on to be processed into a candy and such.  So he wants to go see where and how this is done.
- The guy shows him how it is done and has him help out.  The product is called Thurian(durian) Guan (stir).  You stir stir stir, about 3 hours, until sugar is added.  Using a boat paddle...multi-purpose tool!
- Once done...he holds up a piece and starts to say that it looks like shit but stops when the guy comes up!
- The end product has kept its pungent smell!!  Won't go away!  Says the guy keeps forcing him to eat it!  But does say that when it starts to cool down, it does start to taste a little better.
- He purchased 1/2 kilo but swears the guy forced him to eat 1 1/2 kilos of it!  I can definitely see Warren loving even this!!!  LOL!
- He wraps up the story buy saying, like people, don't judge a fruit by its looks.

หลงกรุง - เนื้อแท้ 17Jun12

Ethan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1644
    • Central California Z9/9
    • View Profile
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2012, 12:14:38 AM »
I think Warren would do a much better job than that guy!

-Ethan

fruitlovers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15883
  • www.fruitlovers.com
    • USA, Big Island, East Hawaii, Zone 13a
    • View Profile
    • Fruit Lover's Nursery
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #2 on: September 17, 2012, 01:13:25 AM »
Wow Jay, a farang that can speak Thai! How unusual. I know westerners that have lived in Thailand for years and can barely manage a few sentences. I notice though there were subtitles in Thai so maybe his pronounciation is not the best?
The only product i really like made out of durian are durian chips. But these are made from immature fruits. Put potato chips to shame, very tasty! They have no smell nor any gaseous after effects. This is a product that could easily make it onto world markets.
Oscar

Mike T

  • Zone 12a
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9012
  • Cairns,Nth Qld, Australia
    • Zone 12a
    • View Profile
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #3 on: September 17, 2012, 06:35:26 AM »
I have durian chips in the cupboard and tank up on them in thailand.The asian shops around here order crates of durian chips in and they are cheap.

fruitlovers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15883
  • www.fruitlovers.com
    • USA, Big Island, East Hawaii, Zone 13a
    • View Profile
    • Fruit Lover's Nursery
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #4 on: September 17, 2012, 06:40:52 AM »
I have durian chips in the cupboard and tank up on them in thailand.The asian shops around here order crates of durian chips in and they are cheap.

Totally unseen and unknown in USA.
Oscar

Mike T

  • Zone 12a
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9012
  • Cairns,Nth Qld, Australia
    • Zone 12a
    • View Profile
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #5 on: September 17, 2012, 06:41:03 AM »
OJ is the fermented fish the same as pdak? Thai people make it out of my small discarded fish with rice, salt etc and it gets left for a year or so.I have some and it lifts the roof when I take the lid off.The sugared durian 'slabs' are available here and are like giant candy bars.

TropicalFruitHunters

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1384
    • USA, Columbus, OH, xxxxx Zone 5b
    • View Profile
    • Tropical Fruit Hunters
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #6 on: September 17, 2012, 06:56:49 AM »
Mike...yes!  I yelled over the cubicle wall here your comment above and my wife laughed her butt off!  I asked her if she has ever eaten it and she said NO!

Our local Asian mkt carries durian chips and maybe some other products.  I'll check this weekend.

Oscar...the guy is originally from Canada and now lives there.  You are correct...my wife says his pronunciation is a little off sometimes but she had no problem understanding him.  The video was from this guy's TV program over there.  We had a lot of fun watching it.  One of the last parts of the film showed a cartoon drawing of the various stages of durian and the products made from those stages.  The chips are from non-ripe, ripe for eating, and then the blalah for candies and such.

My ability to speak or understand Thai has gone way downhill instead.  Too lazy I guess.  I need to get my butt in gear and get serious about learning.  I always blame my wife for being a bad teacher.

Mike T

  • Zone 12a
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9012
  • Cairns,Nth Qld, Australia
    • Zone 12a
    • View Profile
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #7 on: September 17, 2012, 07:21:05 AM »
OJ if I couple still post pix I'd show a jar of the most gutwrenching slurry you have ever seen.I bet you have salty crabs in the fridge,dried shrimps and fish in the cupboard next to the jar of pickled gouramy.Just remember makok farang in the som tum is not as good as mayom.

TropicalFruitHunters

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1384
    • USA, Columbus, OH, xxxxx Zone 5b
    • View Profile
    • Tropical Fruit Hunters
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #8 on: September 17, 2012, 08:15:21 AM »
You'd lose that bet!  She likes that stuff but never purchases it for some reason.  She used to buy these shrimp snacks...similar to a Cheetos puff snack but made with shrimp.  Most God-awful smell!  I would tease her saying that they smelled like the nasty stuff coming from a dog's anal glands!!!  Which...if anyone has ever had the misfortune of experiencing this bouquett, you'll understand how bad the snack smelled!

We do keep fish sauce in the house though.  Took me a little while but now even I couldn't live without it in the house.  Just don't spill it on anything!

I remember seeing these candies in Thailand.  They had them made from durian, mangosteen, and some others as well.  Didn't like the mangosteen version so there was no way in hell I was trying the durian ones.

Mike T

  • Zone 12a
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9012
  • Cairns,Nth Qld, Australia
    • Zone 12a
    • View Profile
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #9 on: September 17, 2012, 08:26:45 AM »



OJ should you wish to raise the dead some of these thai ingredients might help.

TropicalFruitHunters

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1384
    • USA, Columbus, OH, xxxxx Zone 5b
    • View Profile
    • Tropical Fruit Hunters
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #10 on: September 17, 2012, 09:18:37 AM »
No way in hell would I allow those jars to be opened in my home!!  Outside...only maybe!  I bet the glass jars are hard pressed to keep in the smell.

tabbydan

  • Washington DC area
  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 452
    • View Profile
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #11 on: September 17, 2012, 01:55:06 PM »
I've seen processed durian here at some stores in the US (preserved paste, cookies...).

I have to say that preserved durian is an acquired taste.  I can understand that the overripe fruit used for it smells horrible.  I actually like the smell of ordinary durian but if it goes bad (and if it is preserved it will have gone bad already) it truly smells horrible (rotten onion/garlic smell).  I took a whiff of durian cookies in Indonesia this summer and became quite nauseated as a result.

My "outer limit" for durian is frozen (which is what is imported to the US).  Frozen doesn't smell bad unless you leave it in the freezer for 6 months or more.  Though anything that isn't fresh durian is really feeble compared to the fresh ones.

I "stock up" when I go to a durian producing place by eating as much as I can.  This last trip I split something like 11 durians with my wife (she let me have slightly more).  My personal best (in 2005) was eating 2.20 big durians by myself (that was durian as my whole lunch meal).
What's that got to do with Jose Andres $10 brussel sprouts?

bangkok

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2823
    • View Profile
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #12 on: November 11, 2012, 01:41:36 AM »
I only like the durian chips which are very tasty and crispy.

I heard from my wife that the Nonthaburi durian (Kaan yao-species) is the most highly priced in thailand. If you want one you have to order it in advance and prices go up to 2-300us$ !!  for 1 fruit. It has to be grown in Nonthaburi or it is not the one that they want to pay for. How they can check if it is really grown in Nonthaburi i dont know.






Mike T

  • Zone 12a
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9012
  • Cairns,Nth Qld, Australia
    • Zone 12a
    • View Profile
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #13 on: November 11, 2012, 02:46:44 AM »
Kan or Gaan yeow is one of the 4 common commercial types and I have a small tree in my yard here.It's name means long peduncle and the quality is on par with montong.Durian grown in chanthaburi is also prized.
If you want to part ways with cash try and purchase Chantaburi 1 or Laplae durians.

bangkok

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2823
    • View Profile
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #14 on: November 11, 2012, 09:33:34 AM »
To please my wife we bought a small durian tree yesterday. I forgot the species but my wife loves it she said.

My question is can i keep the tree under 3 metre and of course i want it to fruit. I can also put it in a big pot but full soil sounds better.

It will get full sun almost the whole day. The place i have in thought is between a wall and concrete floor and is about 1.5 metres wide. Will that give problems with the roots breaking the wall or floor or how can i prevent from that?

We grow it just for fun, not to get the most or best fruits of the world.

TropicalFruitHunters

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1384
    • USA, Columbus, OH, xxxxx Zone 5b
    • View Profile
    • Tropical Fruit Hunters
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #15 on: November 11, 2012, 11:12:05 AM »
If you have the space, I'd certainly plant it in the ground providing the soil in your area will support a durian.  Might want to consult some area nurseries and get their opinion.  1.5 meters is not very wide and when the tree gets mature, you could have issues with the concrete and wall.  I'm not too familiar with how agressive durian roots can become.

bangkok

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2823
    • View Profile
Re: A durian tour in Thailand
« Reply #16 on: November 12, 2012, 05:38:36 AM »
Well i will try it and see what happens. Maybe i will check the roots under the wall or concrete after some years by digging the soil away.

I will take a look at a mature tree first how the roots will grow before i plant mine, thanks anyway.