How to Eat Durian Fruit

By Darlene Schmidt, About.com Guide

Step 1: Shopping For Durian: Durian is sold in Asian markets or Asian grocery stores. Look for light-colored spikes without any dark brown patches or bits of white between the spikes (signs of over-ripeness). Durian fruit freezes well, and is often exported and sold frozen. Store your durian in the refrigerator or a cool place until you're ready to open it.

Health Benefits: Durian is very healthy, with high concentrations of vitamins and minerals. It is unique among fruit in that it contains the B-complex vitamins (great for vegetarians!). It is also rich in dietary fibre and high in vitamin C, potassium, essential amino acid, copper, iron, and magnesium. Note: If gout runs in your family, limit your intake of durian to 1 portion per day (about 1/2 cup).

Interesting Durian Facts:

• Durian has been called the King of Fruits because of its enormous size (about 1 foot long), heavy weight, and the amount of fruit it contains.
• Because of its weight and sharp spikes, falling durians kill a number of people every year (for this reason, newer hybrids have been developed to make durian trees less tall)
• Thailand is the world's largest exporter of durian. A lot of durian fruit comes to our North American stores frozen.
• Durian is good for you! (see below for benefits)
• Durian has a famously strong smell, and is therefore banned from most public places in Southeast-Asia, including hospitals and trains. When travelling, it's always humorous for Westerners to see a 'no durian' sign posted beside the 'no smoking' signs!

Taste: Usually durian is either loved at first taste, or hated. Its fruit is sweet and 'buttery' in texture, with very little juice. The first time I tasted durian, I was reminded of a creamsicle (not an exact comparison, but it might give you an idea). Durian can eaten fresh, or used to make various types of desserts.