apparently durian is 3 times smellier than s**t

[lycheeluva]

a little difficult to believe but so it is

How smelly is the durian?

[Tropicalgrower89]

In other words, unless I want to stay single, don't eat durian... hahaha

[TropicalFruitHunters]

So many factors involved!  None of the durian we had in Thailand or PR were overly powerful...except for when Warren kicked a baggie full of durian underneath the back seat in the SUV and forgot about it for a couple of days!  Still wasn't horrible...just strong.

[murahilin]

In other words, unless I want to stay single, don't eat durian... hahaha

Well, I am not so sure. Durian and elephant digested durian is considered an aphrodisiac so it may be of assistance. There is also the saying "when the durians fall down, the sarongs go up." 

http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0120-hance_durians.html
Durian flavored condoms: http://www.iloveu.com.sg/Prd81_SIMPLEX_condom.html

[BluePalm]

It never ceases to amaze me what you guys find...

[GwenninPR]

Hahaha! 
Sometimes one has to overlook the smell (though I agree, the durian we tried in PR didn't smell much).
Both durian and dog poop have an odor, but I ate the durian.  I have not eaten dog poop (though in all honesty, it is not just the odor that is keeping me from that).

[Tim]

lol Gwenn

No doubt it's an acquired taste for the novice but I don't recall having regurgitative reaction as compared to my first several accounts with goat or blue cheese 

[Mike T]

There are hundreds of durian varieties and the aroma varies almost as much as the taste.Some have sewerage, blue cheese and sulphur overtones in the bouquet even though the taste is a combination of vanilla,custard and onions.Malaysian and indonesian types are stronger in smell and taste than the larger and more modest thai types.They have to be smelly to lure gibbons and orangs whereas I'm told many peoples' sh*t don't stink.
 

[HMHausman]

There are hundreds of durian varieties and the aroma varies almost as much as the taste.Some have sewerage, blue cheese and sulphur overtones in the bouquet even though the taste is a combination of vanilla,custard and onions.Malaysian and indonesian types are stronger in smell and taste than the larger and more modest thai types.They have to be smelly to lure gibbons and orangs whereas I'm told many peoples' sh*t don't stink.

Having smelled a limited number of durian cultivars, I would have to say that my experience thus far would strongly favor smelling durian rather than the scatological alternative. Now having said that and having encountered quite a few of those people with that rare excretory claim you mention above,  I  would reconcider and be forced to reassess this preference after encountering either more odiforus durian culitvars or someone who actually lives up to this non-stinking standard.

Harry

[Squam256]

There are hundreds of durian varieties and the aroma varies almost as much as the taste.Some have sewerage, blue cheese and sulphur overtones in the bouquet even though the taste is a combination of vanilla,custard and onions.Malaysian and indonesian types are stronger in smell and taste than the larger and more modest thai types.They have to be smelly to lure gibbons and orangs whereas I'm told many peoples' sh*t don't stink.

Having smelled a limited number of durian cultivars, I would have to say that my experience thus far would strongly favor smelling durian rather than the scatological alternative. Now having said that and having encountered quite a few of those people with that rare excretory claim you mention above,  I  would reconcider and be forced to reassess this preference after encountering either more odiforus durian culitvars or someone who actually lives up to this non-stinking standard.

Harry

LOL

[FloridaGreenMan]

That video is a bunch of smelly crap! Just someone trying to get a bunch of views on his You Tube video.   

[Jackfruitwhisperer69]

That video is a bunch of smelly crap! Just someone trying to get a bunch of views on his You Tube video.

Hi FGM,

I totally agree with you!

[Conden]

I bet CK1 and most other petrochemical-based perfumes, colognes, aftershaves etc. are much more than "3 times smellier" but people still go around wearing them and stinking up indoor places.  Meanwhile, I find the scent of durian to be pleasant, it reminds me of the delicious taste, has no relation to fecal matter and usually won't fill up a room either. 

[HMHausman]

I agree that the video is an overly dramatic stunt.  However, one has to wonder about the fruit's overall appeal if guys like Andrew Zimmern....who can eat the most God awful stuff.......bugs, slugs, fermented and rotted stuff, organs and whole small animals and yet there is one thing he can just not eat. He actually visibly gagged on it and spit it out.  What you may ask?  Yes, King Durian. So was this a publicity stunt?  Why pick on poor durian after the myriad of stuff this guy put in his mouth on the Bizarre Foods Show.  Well....I guess it is a mystery.

Harry

[BMc]

Of course some have a foul odor that lingers and almost stains. Across its primary growing and consumption regions it is often banned from enclosed spaces. That wouldnt happen if it wasnt an appealing, faint odor to the majority.
Im not against durian or its smell, but have encountered a few with a rancid cabbage boquet, like you get when visiting NY chinatown mid summer. Not all smell like this, but some certainly do (and if you dare to eat one that smells bad olfactory senses will often correlate this to your tastebuds, giving you a terrible experience). Im unsure how folk state they dont smell that strongly, when even in places they are appreciated and widely available they are acknowledged as being rather smelly.

I was also told by a durian fan that if you didnt like the smell or taste of durian you were an unfit person, and that all fit and healthy people would appreciate the taste and smell of durian. That was undoubtedly the stupidest thing I have ever heard.   

[fruitlovers]

Im unsure how folk state they dont smell that strongly, when even in places they are appreciated and widely available they are acknowledged as being rather smelly.

Those signs commonly seen in Thailand prohibiting durians from hotels is only for foreigners. No Thai in his/her right mind would take a durian inside of a hotel. Durians are eaten by Thais at hotel pool sides, so they are certainly not prohibited at hotels, only interior of hotels. You can also commonly see Thais eating durians on picnic benches. The durian emits a sulphurous gas when fully ripe, so if you take it indoors it's like taking a leaking propane container inside of a room...that room is going to smell more and more of gas as time goes on as the gas fills that room. Outdoors is not a problem at all.
The same occurs with marang (Artocarpus odoratissimus), chempadek, and even jackfruit, also with kuini (Mangifera odorata) If you leave any of those ripe fruits indoor you will also get a very stong smell indoors. I once almost got kicked out of a Thai hotel for bringing a chempadek inside the room. They could smell it all the way to the lobby!

[Mike T]

The smell is strongest in the skin and a few weeks ago at work people got upset t me for having durian in the lunchroom and it was likle a gasleak.Some chempadek and marang are almost as fragrant,that is true.

[fruitlovers]

The smell is strongest in the skin and a few weeks ago at work people got upset t me for having durian in the lunchroom and it was likle a gasleak.Some chempadek and marang are almost as fragrant,that is true.

Try bringing a few kuinis indoors and see what your wife says? 

[Mike T]

I wonder why floridians don't get the cooler tolerant varieties and lineages of many fruit that are thought to be too equatorial for the place.Long and lin laplae durians from cold areas near utteradit surely would grow there and are of good quality.Langsat from the same area should aslo thrive in the subtropics.Too often people assume you can't grow heat lovers because they only look to the shallow end of the gene pool or only test more tropical/equatorial examples of a species.

[HMHausman]

I wonder why floridians don't get the cooler tolerant varieties and lineages of many fruit that are thought to be too equatorial for the place.Long and lin laplae durians from cold areas near utteradit surely would grow there and are of good quality.Langsat from the same area should aslo thrive in the subtropics.Too often people assume you can't grow heat lovers because they only look to the shallow end of the gene pool or only test more tropical/equatorial examples of a species.

We Floridians would first have to hear about these things you mention and then be able to source them.  Any help in this regard would be more than appreciated.  The Durio species are really interesting trees horticulturally, regardless what you think of the various fruits' tastes or smells.

Harry

[FloridaGreenMan]

I wonder why floridians don't get the cooler tolerant varieties and lineages of many fruit that are thought to be too equatorial for the place.Long and lin laplae durians from cold areas near utteradit surely would grow there and are of good quality.Langsat from the same area should aslo thrive in the subtropics.Too often people assume you can't grow heat lovers because they only look to the shallow end of the gene pool or only test more tropical/equatorial examples of a species.

Langsat has been grown and fruited outdoors by several growers in SFLA and in fact is fairly cold tolerant once they grow to size.  The main reason they are not more common is that 17 to 20 year wait for them to fruit. Grafted trees are real difficult to find also. One of my friends in the Miami RFCI waited 18 yrs before his tree flowered and before he could harvest the fruit, a wicked summer storm toppled the tree. He was close to suicidal after that sad event.  Langsat is an amazing fruit and to me it's in  the class of Mangosteen and Pulasan as one of the best in the world. Few local growers have tasted it so they don't know what they are missing! 



       

   

[fruitlovers]

I wonder why floridians don't get the cooler tolerant varieties and lineages of many fruit that are thought to be too equatorial for the place.Long and lin laplae durians from cold areas near utteradit surely would grow there and are of good quality.Langsat from the same area should aslo thrive in the subtropics.Too often people assume you can't grow heat lovers because they only look to the shallow end of the gene pool or only test more tropical/equatorial examples of a species.

The shallow end of the gene pool is always much easier to access. Also with so many people really believing that they smell like you know what, then why should they bother? Difficulties with growing durian in Florida are not only the occasional arctic blasts, but also poor and shallow limestone soils and quite occasional devastating hurricanes.  Low water table might also be a big problem causing phytophora. So i think it's really a lot easier said than done. I think durians will be restricted in Florida to glass houses like the Whitman pavillion for a long time to come, unless a lot more durian fanatics suddenly move over there!