In honor of our trip to Malaysia, my husband and I bought the smallest of small durians. These are on sale now at all local supermarkets. Often enough, there are sweet senior citizens who help us find the best ones. I believe it is the color and smell that distinguishes if it is ripe or just ripe. Because we got a small one for the two of us, we got one that was ripe.
I thought it might be interesting to show how we opened ours, a D.I.Y of sorts!...and, if you have been curious over what durian looks like, then it might be interesting to check it out.
How to "PEEL" a durian:
1. Drop it
We actually dropped ours conveniently as we tried to carry it back to our place from the supermarket. We bought it on a whim, so we had no bags. The cashier wrapped it as well as she could for us in newspapers...but it just dropped out.
Dropping it helps the outer casing to crack open, which you can see below.
2. Peel it
From the cracked area, you can just peel it open like an CHOCOLATE ORANGE (wiki of a chocolate orange). BE CAREFUL! The spikes are hard and sharp.
Inside, you'll find that each little durian fruit is neatly encased in their own little pod. Once you peel open the pods (there are 4 - 5 pods or more!), you can notice that they look like peas in a pod!
3. Gather it
The next step is to just gather all of the durian fruit. They just pop out nicely and look like giant yellow bits of a croissant.
I think durian is one of those things that you either love or hate. But, I don't have any qualms about it. The texture is creamy and sweet. The smell is non-offensive to ME! But, I know the smell is incredibly offensive to a lot of people!
NOTE: When the durian fruit is refrigerated, it definitely enhances the durian-eating experience.
***This blog is going to be going on hiatus for two weeks, as we shall be in Malaysia. I won't have access to the internet, which is a good thing because sometimes I just need a true break from my internet addiction! I'm a bit nervous to be flying down there, but I hope to return to Hong Kong with a lot of pictures and Amazing Finds! Bye for a bit!***
