The King of the King of Fruits

It’s November… and that means it’s durian season! Yes, this is the time of the year when this so-dubbed “King of Fruits” is piled high at all the fruit stalls along Sims Avenue / Geylang Road, and at every neighbourhood fruit stall too.

It used to be that we only get to taste the durian twice a year – June/July and November/December, with the major harvest being at the end of the year. However, in recent years, it seems that the fruit has become available all year round. Hmmmm… are the farmers fertilizing the tree a lot or crossbreeding or something to get the trees to flower and bear fruit year round? Isn’t that a rather worrying thought? Seems rather unnatural, I feel. Anyway, the November/December period is still the main harvest – when the fruit is at its tastiest and most abundant.

This year, the harvest has apparently been even more abundant, and prices have fallen dramatically. So, on our way home yesterday from lunch, we couldn’t resist picking up a few Sultan D24 durians. I like to buy the “real fruit”… don’t like those that now come shrink-wrapped and packed in sterile white unimaginative styroform boxes.

Sultan D24 is considered the King of the King of Fruits. Adored by durian connoisseurs for its perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness, for being beautifully smooth and creamy, and yet not mushy. Its flavors (when one finds a good fruit) are rich, aromatic and absolutely shiokadelicious!

Although recently it would seem that its position as the best in durian breeds is slowly being usurped by the XO durian – which is supposed to be even creamier, even sweeter and more bitter (?)… I don’t know… I’m not a real connoisseur, though I thoroughly enjoy the fruit – in all its guises…

This fruit is so adored that it now appears in just about all possible forms – from durian mousse cake, durian swiss roll, durian pancake, durian cream puffs, to durian ice cream, durian pudding, durian ice kacang and even durian mooncake! I’ve heard that someone somewhere in Singapore is also serving up durian roti prata/roti canai (the crispy, flaky pan-fried Indian pancake, which is normally served savory and eaten by dipping into curry)! Haven’t tried it, and somehow not inclined to either! Some of these permutations work very well, and my family loves them – such as durian cake, durian cream puffs and durian ice cream. However, some just tastes weird, like durian mooncake. But it’s all personal preferences I guess, because there must be people who like them… pastry shops and hotel delis roll them out big-time each year for the mooncake festival.

We like to freeze extra durian. They keep very well in the freezer for months. I also like to remove the flesh from the seeds and mash it into a thick rich, chunky pulp, which can then be mixed into semi-softened vanilla ice cream for a quick-and-easy home-made durian ice cream, or simply scooped over vanilla ice cream as a rich, aromatic topping! Yum, super yum!

And if you’re concerned about assaulting those around you with smelly breathe after indulging in durian, here’s a quick “old wives’ tip” for removing the very strong smell of the durian from your fingers and mouth… Use one of the empty segments of husk, sprinkle around ¼ to ½ tsp of salt into the cavity, dissolve in some water, drink out of the husk and rinse your mouth with the salted water. This also helps prevent sore throats too, which can happen from eating too much of the fruit.

And to remove the smells from your fingers, simply place the empty husk under running tap water, and rinse your hands in the water that has passed through the husk (as my mum is seen doing here View image).

Finally, to balance out the yang or “heatiness” of the durian, it is believed that one should also consume mangosteen after eating durian. This fruit with the deep purple/burgundy hard husk, which hides small segments of sweet white fleshed seeds, is said to have a yin or “cooling effect”, and will prevent the sore throats and hoarseness of voice that says: uh-oh… had too much durian! : D

Happy Durian-ing and Mangosteen-ing!

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
Please contact me for permission to copy, distribute or display any of the images and text contained in this article.