Back in “Oh My, Taiwan! Part 2” I mentioned my personal mission to acquire and taste the (in)famous and illusive Durian Fruit. It wasn’t until we reached the Kaohsiung Night Market on Day 7 of 8 did I stand chance of finding this pungent edible portioned out in a “snack size” for sale. (The whole fruit can be the size of your head –or bigger– which was just too much food to waste on a simple taste experiment.)
Now, if you’ve watched any of the multitude of exotic travel shows on tv, you’ve probably heard of Durian. Being a long-time fan of “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern”, I had to experience one of his least favorite foods for myself. My opinion:
Every one of those shows, including Andrew, is absolutely right: it’s pretty vile.
The texture was pudding-like, tasting like a jumble of fruit tossed into sangria — neglected for months in an abandoned kitchen at the height of summer. Initially, the completely unprocessed and raw tang was tolerable, leading me to believe that my culinary mettle was that of someone much more mature than it actually is. Then the aftertaste hit me and I was done. One of my travelmates had another opinion:
“It tastes a little like gasoline smells,” Nick said, between thoughtful chews. When he reached for another bite, I raised an eyebrow to which he replied, “I must’ve been a car in a past life. I kinda like it!” It wasn’t until one of our more experienced foodie-conspirators had a taste did we find out the horrible truth:
“This isn’t fresh Durian. This has been frozen, so a lot of the potency of the flavor has been dulled.”
I can’t even imagine what a full-flavored fruit would taste like, or what a full-flavored fruit might do to my face. If I find one, I’ll be sure to try it and let you know.
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