Tis the season of Durian

Well, on a lighter note, I can inform all 3 of my readers that mid year in Segamat is Durian season. Durian is a large, thorn covered fruit that is both loved and hated for it's distinctive flavour and powerful odour.

So at 3am last night, I hear this almighty crash from what seemed just outside my bedroom window and realise about 15 minutes later (after thinking really hard about it and pushing aside the fear that it was some wild, beastly animal lurking around) that's it's the neighbors durian dropping from the tree. I swear, you wouldn't want to get near one of these things when it's falling from a tree, it could kill you. Ranging in weight from one to three kilos, these things are covered in thorns so sharp they can draw blood. Bloody dangerous!

Durians are one of those things you either love or hate, and the reason is... the smell! When people talk about durians, especially to me or other foreigners, they always talk about the smell. It's pungent, powerful and lingering. Animals can smell durian from half a mile away.
The Wiki describes it well:

"The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Regarded by some as fragrant, others as overpowering and offensive, the smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust. The odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in Southeast Asia." - and it's really not a good idea to keep them in your car!!


So intensely pungent is the smell that it's been compared to everything from smelling like sewerage to rotten mushy onions. However it must have something going for it, because plenty of people eat it and in huge quantities. Kampung (village) durian can sell from as little as a one ringgit a kilo and for more specialised varieties you can pay up to 50 Ringgit a kilo. In fact, everywhere you go here you can see durians stacked up, waiting to be sold. Really, there are durian stalls everywhere. Loads of durians ripening and fermenting in the tropical heat - yummo! And it's a bumper crop this season, so the quality is good - according to my friends and family because I don't actually eat the stuff and neither do my kids. They just screw there cute little eurasian noses up everytime durian fumes waft by.

The father of one of my students brought me some durian yesterday - like a token of appreciation, I suppose - and when he lifted the box out of the boot of his car and gave it to me, the smell nearly knocked me over. I would never be so rude to say "oh no thanks, I don't eat them" so I took the box and smiled and said thankyou, I'm sure my family will enjoy them. I told ex he should eat them and he did open one. The inside was so nice and fleshy, even he couldn't finish it all. Good thing it freezes.

The thing I like about durian season is that it's also the season for rambutan and mangosteen. The tropical fruit here people, is fabulous, but rambutan and mangosteen are amongst my favourites. Here's a pic:
Rambutan
Mangosteen:








Unlike durian, these two lovely sweet fruits do not smell like old socks and they are wonderfully cooling. In Australia, you can buy rambutans at certain fruit shops for about AUD $20.00 a kilo. Here, a mere RM2 (2 Ringgit) can buy you a whole bunch. Yum.

They're so good, that when we were in Australia and my mum took my daughter shopping, my mum asked her "what would you like to have?" and my daughter said "Hmmm, rambutans!" LOL. Chocolate? Icecream? Nup, she wanted rambutans!!! My mum just gave her a blank look because she didn't know what she was talking about. Funny..... you had to be there.

Hope you're all enjoying the cold weather, it's damn hot here, always hot!

Cheers