The Real Problem with Durians

[fruitlovers]

No the biggest problem with durians is not the odor, although that seems to be the only problem ever discussed. The smell discussion has become so much of an obsession that it seems to me the real bigger problems are never even brought up.
For example,this is probably the least user friendly fruit imaginable. The whole outer rind is covered in needle sharp spines. Carrying one of these fruits is hard enough. Opening them up can be right down dangerous. Some cultivars are easier to open than other. Some will pop open at the perfect ripe stage. The 2 Thai varieties i'm dealing with now are over ripe once the segments pop open. So prying them open is quite a strong laborious effort and takes a lot of skill to open one without mauling your hand.
Then there is the problem of lots and lots of sharp rind waste after eating to dispose of. One past calculation i did on a Chanee showed that 72% of the fruit is waste and only 28% is pulp. http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=13525.msg171416#msg171416 If you are buying the fruits for $5 a pound then you are in fact paying around $17.85 for the edible portion. So it's a very expensive fruit!
From a cultivation point of view the plant material is hard to obtain, hard to transport, scions stay viable a very short time and are hard to graft. The trees  are slow to bare, often taking as long or longer than the notoriously slow mangosteen. The trees get quite large and the wood is brittle and breaks easily in high winds. The trees easily succcumb to phytophthora (fungal root rot).
So why do people bother? First taste of an exquisite durian and all these problems don't seem very problematic any longer. As a fruit durian is really in a class all its own.

[jegpg1]

If if was easy as apple (pie) people would not bother. We like challenge, adventure then enjoy the reward.

[TropicalFruitHunters]

Don't forget the dangers of the fruit falling from the tree.  Nailed it Oscar.  In addition to the various flavors, I believe the majesty of the tree itself, and the sheer uniqueness/midievalness of the fruit do put it in a class all its own.  It is certainly not your average "plant it and forget it" kind of tree.  I found this out the hard way in Thailand of all places when I lost three lovely specimens this past summer.  Have you thought of fashioning one of those fruit splitters/openers sometimes seen in pics?  Seem to do the trick quite nicely with no fuss or punctures.

[LivingParadise]

I have not had the chance to try durian yet. But based on the problem description, is there a reason you can't just pick wearing thick leather gardening gloves, and split with an axe? I handle large bougainvillea and similar plants with such gloves all the time, which protect me from 2-inch needle-like spines. And I frequently split mature coconuts with an axe.

Using cardboard as an extra protective layer between your hands and the fruit might also help when they are heavy for carrying.

Personally, I like fruits that have a lot of waste because they provide a lot of free mulch/nutritious compost for my plants...

[Finca La Isla]

You could probably use strong leather gloves to handle the durians but here, in the tropics, gloves are kind of hot.  The durians usually fall with the stem still attached which makes for a handle.  We usually carry a plastic crate, pick them up by the 'handle' and ...to carry them in a plastic bag they should be wrapped in newspaper or they will slice their way through thin plastic.
I see people open durian with a knife but we never do that.  Before the durians split on their own we test them by applying pressure with a shoe or boot, NOT flip flops.  If the durian is ripe it will start to split easily enough.  So, open with pressure to force the fruit to split.  If it doesn't split then just wait another day.  This has always worked for us.
We're dehydrating durian pulp to flavor chocolate bars today.  Oscar is so right that the yield is poor but...
Peter

[Samu]

Thanks Oscar for taking the time to share your knowledge about this unique fruit; the "King of all fruits", as some people described it (of which I tend to agree).
I had no idea of this tree's unique behavior before! 

It's interesting to note that the odor/aroma didn't bother me at all, I like it a lot actually, I've been buying the frozen ones especially in Summer, thawed it, then make a durian flavor ice cream with it...yummy! 

[fruitlovers]

Don't forget the dangers of the fruit falling from the tree.  Nailed it Oscar.  In addition to the various flavors, I believe the majesty of the tree itself, and the sheer uniqueness/midievalness of the fruit do put it in a class all its own.  It is certainly not your average "plant it and forget it" kind of tree.  I found this out the hard way in Thailand of all places when I lost three lovely specimens this past summer.  Have you thought of fashioning one of those fruit splitters/openers sometimes seen in pics?  Seem to do the trick quite nicely with no fuss or punctures.

A tool to help pry them open would certainly be a big help. Do you have a link to a photo?

[fruitlovers]

You could probably use strong leather gloves to handle the durians but here, in the tropics, gloves are kind of hot.  The durians usually fall with the stem still attached which makes for a handle.  We usually carry a plastic crate, pick them up by the 'handle' and ...to carry them in a plastic bag they should be wrapped in newspaper or they will slice their way through thin plastic.
I see people open durian with a knife but we never do that.  Before the durians split on their own we test them by applying pressure with a shoe or boot, NOT flip flops.  If the durian is ripe it will start to split easily enough.  So, open with pressure to force the fruit to split.  If it doesn't split then just wait another day.  This has always worked for us.
We're dehydrating durian pulp to flavor chocolate bars today.  Oscar is so right that the yield is poor but...
Peter

As i mentioned, once the Monthong fruits fall from the tree they will be over ripe. That is why the trees are climbed and fruits cut in Thailand (as opposed to Malaysia where they let their cultivars drop naturally off the trees). I found the same to be true with my Chanees. Much better to pick them off the trees. But then they are very hard to pry open. The Chanees were especially hard to open, but perfectly ripe inside, and incredible quality.

[TropicalFruitHunters]

https://www.google.com/search?q=durian+fruit+opener+tool&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjF4ODR-ajPAhVIxoMKHWWeBTIQ_AUICSgC&biw=2133&bih=1071&dpr=0.9#imgrc=Qr0L79k1hhMXdM%3A

[fruitlovers]

https://www.google.com/search?q=durian+fruit+opener+tool&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjF4ODR-ajPAhVIxoMKHWWeBTIQ_AUICSgC&biw=2133&bih=1071&dpr=0.9#imgrc=Qr0L79k1hhMXdM%3A

Wow! Great idea on that youtube video tool. Looks really simple too.

[arvind]

Ah durian the king of fruit in my country.The best would be durian musang king and i have not tried it yet due to the exorbitant price.Did you know that elephants love durian and during fruiting season  herds of elephants are known to feast on the fallen fruit and how they break open the thorny fruit i have no idea.

[DimplesLee]

https://www.google.com/search?q=durian+fruit+opener+tool&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjF4ODR-ajPAhVIxoMKHWWeBTIQ_AUICSgC&biw=2133&bih=1071&dpr=0.9#imgrc=Qr0L79k1hhMXdM%3A

Will def save my poor foot - my method for stubborn Puyat Gold was to remove the stem put it in a sack, put the wrapped durian on a stump and give a hard whack with a rubber mallet on the approximate end where I removed the stem. It has rolled off a few times after getting a good whack.