(Carry-over from the "Sandwiches" thread, which was already at 10+ pages and "Sandwiches", I would think, typically have little to do with fruit)

The topic is durians.

Go.

I don't have much first hand knowledge of durians, but I would like to try one sometime...

For an entertaining article on this malodorous fruit, see the September 1999 issue of Smithsonian magazine.
Choice extract: "Even the durian's scientific name, Durio zibethinus, loosely translates as a thorny fruit smelling of the civet cat, a mammal well-known for the foul-smelling secretions of its scent glands."

I remember seeing the article, but have never seen them in the supermarket. I just now tried to look at cited Smithsonian magazine article online, got "This page cannot be shown" So far I have been unable to feel underprivileged not to have tried them.

Thanks Fiberbabe, you've just made me realize that, with so many people, from so many places, someone on the Board can probably help me identify a fruit I once tried.

I bought it in the supermarket, it was in a basket with a price per unit but no name. It is about the size of a small kiwi with a hard yellowish redish brown outer shell. The inside could best be described as, well, donkey snot being a big lump of translucid goo with a pile of semi-hard greenish lumps about the size of orange pips.

Once the cover was broken open the greenish goo came out in one big blob.

It tasted very lightly sweetish but the feel was so unpleasant that it really didn't do anything for me. Plus, it is the first time I have ever seen my dog back away from food and bark at it.

None of the cashiers knew what it was by the way.

Any idea folks?

It tasted very lightly sweetish but the feel was so unpleasant that it really didn't do anything for me. Plus, it is the first time I have ever seen my dog back away from food and bark at it. None of the cashiers knew what it was by the way. Any idea folks?
It was likely not a durian. They are rather larger than you described.
No idea what it was.
The reason you do not see durian in supermarkets is because one shipment of durian on the shelf would have the manager calling the local fire department's HAZMAT team. The smell is FOUL. They tell me it is delicious but I could not get by that godawful SMELL !!!
wow

It is about the size of a small kiwi with a hard yellowish redish brown outer shell. The inside could best be described as, well, donkey snot being a big lump of translucid goo with a pile of semi-hard greenish lumps about the size of orange pips.

Although I tend to think of them in less negative terms, it sounds like it might have been a kind of passion fruit. The kind I've had in South America (distinct from the brownish ones that I've seen more commonly) have a reddish outside, and inside they're a little like you describe. You say "semi-hard greenish lumps" - how green? how hard? were they really as small as pips?

The passion fruit I'm thinking of has translucent orange-white or greeny-white bits inside, but they're a bit bigger than orange pips. Hmmm. Maybe I'm way off here.

Dear belMarduk: From your description of the delicacy, I am amazed that you had the courage to taste it! Donkey snot...my arthritis will not allow me to roll on floor laughing, which makes it cruel for you to endanger me so!

A thousand pardons, wwh dear, I was trying NOT to be too graphic in my description; I see I may have failed miserably .

It is not a passion fruit though. I have tried those. The hardish lumps inside the viscous goo were definitely the size of orange pips. If you managed to get a hold of one (very slippery) between two finger they were about as hard as a steamed grain of rice, but with a slimy layer on top.

The inside colour was viscous taupish/khaki and the pips a darker shade of taupe/khaki.

Oh, bel! Whatever that thing was, I bet I'd bark at it, too! wwh, let me help you up off the floor, once I get up myself, of course!

Durians don't have all that much of an odor on display at the supermarket. For a long time, I truly did not know if the thing was a plant or some kind of weird sea life. They look like oversized, slightly irregular, American footballs closely covered with long, stiff sharp spines. I have it on good authority that they do taste delicious, and not all of them smell. Might get up the nerve to try one, when I
have my pig-sticker handy.

Durians are definitely the king of fruits. All those stories you hear about the smell are gross exaggerations. They are very tricky to get into (in fact I generally have to call for assistance for that part), but once you do!! The flesh is a whitish yellow goo the consistency of a thick custard. Having all that goo on your fingers is all part of the fun. The feel inside your mouth is like a creamy milkshake but I can't pin down what it tastes like, it's unique. If you ever have one outside SE Asia you may not be getting them at their best. The ones grown naturally are distinctly superior to the ones forced into producing at the wrong time of year. There are all sorts of durian flavoured sweets (candies) here and durian flavoured ice cream but the taste bears no resemblance at all as far as I'm concerned.

Bingley

In reply to:

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"Sandwiches", I would think, typically have little to do with fruit

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Have you never had a banana sandwich? A perennial favourite in our family when I was younger.

Bingley

Mine too! When I was first married--a million years ago, we went to visit my ex's aunt and uncle who had just returned from a trip to europe. Uncle Irving had hundreds of pictures-- and one strange one was a menu board at a Cafe. The sandwich offerings where in ABC order, starting with avacodo, then banana...
Irving thought this was the wildest thing, and asked who ever heard of a banana sandwich-- all of my new family was shocked, when i replied I had, and they were my favorite summertime sandwich!

I like them on whole wheat bread, with lettuce and salt and black pepper. The cafe was in England somewhere-- and my parents are Irish-- so i know banana sandwichs are popular in England, Ireland, and now Indonasia-- and everywhere my family scattered, -- in NY, Denver, SF, Richmond (VA) and Tokyo--since we all enjoy banana sandwiches! (there are great with coffee-- the banana's creamy sweetness is wonderful with coffee's sharp bitterness. I drink both hot and ice coffee black)

I don't know about lettuce, salt, and black pepper, but I personally like them with peanut butter. A nice variation is to take a hot dog bun, put peanut butter inside, and then add the banana like a wiener. Mmm.

Wholewheat bread, certainly, but not pepper - crunchy brown sugar! NOW you're talking of a dish fit for a king (or a president, if you're a repubican)

(or a president, if you're a repubican)

Mind you, a good banana, like good wine, needs no bush!

Yummm Yumm---Bananas and avocadoes are the most perfect food for adults, babies and all in between. Great form of potassium. My Southern husband likes bananas mixed with peanut butter and mayonaise. I skip the mayo and just add fresh garden lettuce or head lettuce on whole wheat bread with crunchy peanut butter. And then the boys like bananas frozen on a stick and dipped in chocolate!!

enthusiast