My first durian fruit...incredibly disgusting, but...

[Doug]

Yesterday I tasted my first durian fruit. When I first smelled it I thought, well, that has to be the worse part of the experience. Well, it wasn't! Not by any stretch of the imagination! I could not believe how absolutely disgusting it tasted!!!! It took me a while just to get the taste out of my mouth. But, I had read that some people say that when they got past the smell they found it really "great" to the taste. Otherwise, how could it be called the king of fruit? So, I started wondering if I somehow had a "bad" durian. I know it's difficult to describe a taste, but before I run out to cut the tree down, I would like to have some other opinions. BTW, my fruit was slightly yellow and somewhat soft to the touch. The edible () inside around the seed was slightly yellow.

[bradflorida]

Youve got a durian tree in the ground and fruiting in St Pete, FL?!

I thought even Bill Whitman never got the durian to fruit here in Florida.

Brad

[Doug]

Hahahahaha.....I live in Costa Rica!

[stuartdaly88]

Is it not an acquired taste? There are many things I loathed the first time I tasted but love now. I literally have dreams of tasting a durian hating it and being heartbroken. I fantasise about being able to taste one far too often I.think I may force myself to like it no matter what my taste buds tell me I would be too upset if I hated it lol.
It looks so freaking incredibly good I can't believe it tastes bad!

[ben mango]

"durian is for smart people" - ken love

 

[Doug]

"Smart people can have a lot of really strange ideas about what is good!".....God

[FloridaGreenMan]

Fresh Durian is awesome. It might just be you! 

[HMHausman]

You described the color and softness to touch but haven't described the taste...other than to say god awful  Not sure if you got a bad fruit or if your taste doesn't appreciate durian.  Either could be the case.  Its no crime to dislike a fruit....even if there are millions that think it tastes good. How would you describe the flavor?

[Doug]

Harry, I don't know how to describe the taste because I have never tasted anything that remotely resembled it, and I've tasted a lot of strange things. Have you eaten one of these things? I'm just curious. The enthusiastic popularity of this so-called "king of fruit" among some folks made me post in the first place, wondering if the fruit I tasted was over mature or rotten in the first place.

[TropicalFruitHunters]

It could have been that the fruit was very ripe.  Most probably favor the peak of ripeness stage.  There are some who like the fruit way beyond that.  There you are getting into the heavy smells.  Of all the durian we've had in PR, probably everyone of them have been in that perfect stage.  There was no bad aroma whatsoever.  I think with our crew, even if all the durian were harvested, it would not have been enough!

[ClayMango]

I think 80 percent of the people have all tasted that weird flavor...I say is closer to sweet Garlic....

However I have this weird Theory that if you can plug your sinuses to block out that awful smell which is most likely influencing much of your taste....just maybe you can experience it for what it is.....but the smell is just bad....and since your smell is so closely linked to your tasted sense...Olfactory Glands**** much of the Durian experience is probably compromised....

Honestly I highly doubt this fruit would ever reign champion over a California Cherimoya or Mango...I don't care if you surveyed 1,000 people who ate Durian for 20 years.....still wouldn't beat Mangos and Cherimoyas in a taste Test

[Doug]

Tastes like "sweet garlic"...that's the first positive description of the taste I've seen.  I guess I maybe got a bad fruit since there was nothing sweet about it. Most of the descriptions I found on the internet don't make you want to run out and eat a durian. One of the weirdest and most colorful was that after eating a durian your "breath smells like you French kissed your dead grandmother." Since taste, like beauty, is a very subjective matter, I guess I'll let the tree survive and hope for a better experience next time. But, I doubt that I'll ever put durian on the throne as king, not while I have fruits to eat like the wonderful mangostans I ate yesterday.

[murahilin]

Doug,
I've had fresh durian in from 3 or 4 different countries from probably twice as many fruit and I still find the taste to be horrible. I will continue to try it every time I come across it though because there is something appealing about the fruit. It simply may be the fact that I've seen so many people enjoy it and I want to experience that enjoyment so I keep on trying it in hopes that my tastebuds will change.

[HMHausman]

Harry, I don't know how to describe the taste because I have never tasted anything that remotely resembled it, and I've tasted a lot of strange things. Have you eaten one of these things?

Yes, I have had quite a few both frozen and fresh.  When I first encountered this fruit, it was a defrosted frozen whole fruit from the Asian market.  It had everything that I do not like about some fruits.......unpleasant smell and funky texture.  I have since had quite few fresh fruits and find that, while i do not share the zeal of some durian enthusiasts, it is a very interesting tasting fruit.  I am still not a fan of its texture but the flavor has  grown on me to some degree. Some fruits I have had projected and onion flavor combined with some sweetness and an almost burned coffee sort of under current. Some say that there is  a component of sherry flavoring in some of the fruits. The flesh is very rich and quite satisfying.  I could never eat this fruit in the quantity that I have eaten mango, or lychee or cherimoya.  It is quite an interesting tree from a horticultural stand point.  The seedlings are like little aliens popping up in the initial germination. One thing is for sure........whatever the flavor is in the particular fruit, it will be repeating on you for many hours after eating it. The smell, however, since my initial experience.....has not seemed to be an issue.  I really don't mind it.  Of course, I do not have the most sensitive sense of smell, so that might account for my lack of objection in the fruits that I have later encountered.

[Doug]

Luckily I have the space to spare here on the old finca so I think I'll let the durian tree keep on enjoying its happy existence. Maybe I'll give another durian fruit a try later. I'm just glad the tree's not planted too close to the house. But, I was just thinking, I wonder if those folks who delight so much in savoring fresh durian flesh also enjoy fresh ripe noni fruit? How about a fruit cocktail of durian and noni? Whew!

[ben mango]

its practically worshipped in some parts of SE asia. its most commonly enjoyed by itself , because the flavor itself is delicious...
davao city

[bangkok]

You have to keep them the asian way, in a opened area then they don't smell strong. And you can bring them peeled inside the house or supermarket.

I found out that i like the big pieces the most, they are more soft and creamy/sweet.

[Triloba Tracker]

My guess is that the fruit was inferior for some reason or another.
It should be sweet, definitely.
I've had mostly frozen and only 2 fresh. I was expecting the fresh to be pretty different than frozen, but my very first bite of fresh was actually very onion-flavored, like some of the less-good frozen ones i've had. I was disappointed at first - but the next 2-3 bites I had, out of the same fruit, were very different. Nuanced and sweet and basically no onion/garlic. Instead there was a burnt sugar/creme brulee type of taste, especially as an aftertaste. A little bitterness too. Wow..I have cravings almost daily.
Went to the Asian market to satisfy said cravings on Saturday and very sad to find they were out.

[fruitlovers]

Luckily I have the space to spare here on the old finca so I think I'll let the durian tree keep on enjoying its happy existence. Maybe I'll give another durian fruit a try later. I'm just glad the tree's not planted too close to the house. But, I was just thinking, I wonder if those folks who delight so much in savoring fresh durian flesh also enjoy fresh ripe noni fruit? How about a fruit cocktail of durian and noni? Whew!

Don't think you'll find anyone travelling thousands of miles to eat noni fruits, as is the case with durian! Many westerners travel all the way to Thailand or Asia just to feast on durians. Ask Durianwriter, Durianlover, Durianisheaven , etc. and all other durian fanatics if durian is disgusting? 
BTW, as far as i know nobody eats noni fruits for pleasure. It's mostly consumed as a medicinal for people with fatal diseases, or as a preventative.

[durianwriter]

Put up a pic and we'll judge if it was good

Where in Costa Rica did you get it? It was a tree near Puerto Viejo that sparked our durian fueled wanderlust

[Doug]

Oscar, my noni comment was my feeble attempt at humor. But, judging by my first durian taste, I actually think a squishy, stinky noni fruit tastes much better. It's that religious obsession of folks who would travel to another continent just to eat Durian that was the basis for my disappointment. So, I'll keep trying! I want to get saved, too. (Joke!). Durianwriter: As for posting a photo, I can't understand how you can judge the taste/goodness of the fruit that way. I'm big time tech-stupid, but I'll try. BTW, my seedling came from CATIE in Turrialba.

[Kapiak]

Doug, I must line in with you on this against others.

I did try Durian in both Singapore (two varieties), Vietnam and Thailand. I NEVER ever liked it. My husband from New Guinea (I'm European) however loved it at first bite and bought one more fruit. I was shocked and asked "Don't you find this fruit disgusting like I do?!?"

He said "Oh no, it is just so delicious!"

I sat there watching him eating 6 segments of Durian in Singapore while I could barely eat one single segment.

So I think it is a pretty controversial fruit, where some love it and others dislike it, like mature cheese. I don't like mature cheese at all.

But I got curious on Durio kutejensis, having "bubbelgum flavour and no odour", so I did try to obtain seeds of it recently that didn't make it unfortunately.

The point is - I don't understand the hype of Durians from my tastebuds' perspective But I still keep trying every time I see Durian to see if I can be saved too *LOL*

[RICBITAR]

I think some people can associate the smell to the flavor, as , if the smell are bad so the taste is bad, before eating the brain judges condemn the taste
In the forum is difficult to discuss because is only one fruit, the fruit could be damaged, could be very mature, or could not yet be mature
Anyone here ever eat a liver or heart of raw lamb, I think the most people never will taste it, but eat raw lamb is culture and tradition in the country of my parents, and I like to eat it

[ClayMango]

I think some people can associate the smell to the flavor, as , if the smell are bad so the taste is bad, before eating the brain judges condemn the taste
In the forum is difficult to discuss because is only one fruit, the fruit could be damaged, could be very mature, or could not yet be mature
Anyone here ever eat a liver or heart of raw lamb, I think the most people never will taste it, but eat raw lamb is culture and tradition in the country of my parents, and I like to eat it

Not only that...as mentioned in the post above.....studies/research in Biology /Psycology has linked smell and taste together as they function almost in unison together in the brain...as you may have noticed when you have a clogged sinus....your taste becomes greatly compromised.

[bangkok]

In Holland almost everybody likes aged cheese, or salted herring but i guess they won't like durian.

It also took me many years to like durian. The same with aged cheese but herring i always liked and that stinks the most of all.