Buying frozen durians . . . . Worth it?

[Epicatt2]

I recently noticed that one of our local Oriental Markets here in Tampa (FL) has frozen
durians, either whole or peeled and sliced offered for sale.  I'm so far undecided about
whether to try them.

What should I look for –or ask the store personnel about, when considering trying what
the store is offering?

Comments and suggestions are welcome . . . .

Paul M.
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[Gogu]

Idk about the ones at your markets but i love the durian that yearofthedurian ships out. Especially the Limbang Red variety. It's my favorite durian currently.

[seng]

Recently frozen fresh whole durian is quiet good.  The peel if scratched is still green.  Here, a box of four  cost around $80 (about $3 per lbs).

[ben mango]

Quality varies from brand to brand. Some are crap, others are pretty good. Most will be frozen monthong from Thailand, if you find d101 frozen from Malaysia I would recommend that instead. If you try one and don’t care for it, try a different brand the 2nd time.

[Epicatt2]

~~ BUMP ~~

Well, there's no obvious place here in the Tampa area to buy fresh durian locally, and I'm not interested in haveing any shipped in, so that is why I asked about frozen ones, which ARE available locally. 

But I don't know much about them so THAT is why I wanted to get some suggestions for what to ask about those at my local oriental store.

Any suggstions?

Paul M.
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[Epicatt2]

Quality varies from brand to brand. Some are crap, others are pretty good. Most will be frozen monthong from Thailand, if you find d101 frozen from Malaysia I would recommend that instead. If you try one and don’t care for it, try a different brand the 2nd time.

Thanx ben mango for that info. 

Alas, I have no idea whether there are more than one brand of frozen durian in my local oriental store.  We shall see....

Any other suggestions or ideas, anyone?

Paul M.
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[dolomis]

if you want more help here, your next move should be gathering more information on what exactly they are selling so members can give accurately make you a suggestion.
the members have made reasonable suggestion considering low information; have said frozen ones are good and if not try a different brand . pretty straight forward if you dont want to have them shipped just try whats available at your local store. dont forget to ask about it if there isnt anything to read on it.

[Bush2Beach]

If you want to try the best frozen Durian on the market support fellow forum member Lindsay at Yearofthedurian.com
she sources and sells the highest quality and best varieties unavailable elsewhere. It's a real no brainer.
I agree about Limbang red, just insane texture and flavor.

[ben mango]

Best, strongest tasting frozen durian I’ve had was frozen , whole. I think these have potential to be even better than any packaged durian since they are never exposed to air. Not knocking Lindsay’s durian , I’ve tried a couple boxes.they are good, but I think you can find just as good at an Asian grocery if you look around , even the Costco here in Kona had frozen musang king packs for $20 last year and there was one I had that rivaled the msw Lindsay sells and no need pay for shipping. Also for first timers, better not to spend that kinda $$

[simon_grow]

Every whole frozen Musang King I’ve tried has been excellent. Frozen whole Mornthong has been hit or miss.

Simon

[K-Rimes]

Lindsay's stuff with Year of the Durian is on another level, but expensive. The Musang Kings I've bought frozen have all been good eating and super affordable, and echoing Simon, the monthongs, not so much.

[Bush2Beach]

I was hoping to try that Costco Musang King but it's never in stock when I make thew run. The YOD are for sale at Sweet Cane and some other brick and mortar so no need to pay shipping and you get way more to eat than a hit or miss Durian from Pam.
Whenever I see them at Asian groceries in San Francisco they are freezer burned, expensive and feel like a crap shoot. only 10% of that per pound price is edible, I like see'ing the pods and knowing they were processed properly and frozen at a very low temperature immediately .
I think first timers having a much more likely good experience with YOD is better than crapshoot with other random frozen D. either way it's going to cost a fair amount. The Costco Musang King is the nicest price , but I only ever heard about it being available in Kone, no insaneland options. All YOD used to be in the $20 range too but D prices going through the roof with the thirst for the D.

Best, strongest tasting frozen durian I’ve had was frozen , whole. I think these have potential to be even better than any packaged durian since they are never exposed to air. Not knocking Lindsay’s durian , I’ve tried a couple boxes.they are good, but I think you can find just as good at an Asian grocery if you look around , even the Costco here in Kona had frozen musang king packs for $20 last year and there was one I had that rivaled the msw Lindsay sells and no need pay for shipping. Also for first timers, better not to spend that kinda $$

[ben mango]

Ya the prepackaged ones are nice that you can have an idea of the quality by how it looks on the outside. Like always tho looks can be deceiving. when buying check to see if they have been sitting for awhile? check for signs of freezer burn as B2b mentioned. If you can see the pods on the prepackages are yellow in color that is usually a good sign, if it’s more on the white side that is an indicator that it wasn’t properly ripe when frozen. Good luck

[Epicatt2]

Ya the prepackaged ones are nice that you can have an idea of the quality by how it looks on the outside. Like always tho looks can be deceiving. when buying check to see if they have been sitting for awhile? check for signs of freezer burn as B2b mentioned. If you can see the pods on the prepackages are yellow in color that is usually a good sign, if it’s more on the white side that is an indicator that it wasn’t properly ripe when frozen. Good luck

Thanks for these further suggestions and observations, ben mango!

Very helpful information –and so was that from the others who offered up hints, too!

Much appreciated.

Now I'll hafta go see what's available.

Paul M.
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