It had been a while since I first/last had durian on Zanzibar in 2007. So when I was at the Chinese supermarket recently, I convinced May that we needed to buy one of these spiky fruits. When she then purchased another one couple weeks later, I decided that it had to be shared with my family to help them in their quest for delicious eats. So we cut it up and hauled it up to Aaron’s place.

Durian so ripe it is splitting

Durian is known for its unique, strong odor, which some liken to rotting flesh. It doesn’t smell anything like rotting flesh, but its odor can spread quickly throughout your house. We put the cut up durian into a glass container with a snapping lid sealed onto the top and carried it in the trunk of our car. After being in there for a couple of hours, when we got back in the car, the whole car smelled like durian, despite being in a pretty airtight container.

Splitting the durian to remove fruit

The flesh itself is delicious, with a taste somewhat similar to jackfruit, though the texture is quite different. Its texture is more like custard, soft and not requiring any chewing, really. Such a delicious fruit. If you ever see one, you should at least try it!