My friends, it’s the durian season now in Kuching City as well as a few other towns in Sarawak. Have you tasted the fruits yet?
I bought my first durians in early December when a journalist friend and her husband turned durian sellers and sold the fruits from a van to my colleagues and I in the office.
My friend said the durians came from her uncle’s orchard in Ensengei, Serian, about one hour from Kuching City.
I bought five small durians for RM30 from her. However, mindful of the pungent odour of the fruits, I did not bring them into the office. Instead, I stored them immediately in the back seat of my car. The smell of the durians remained there for the next one or two weeks. That is why durians are banned from hotel premises and planes.
Since then, I have bought more durians from a wholesaler in front of a bank at Stutong.
Customers were free to choose any durians, big or small, from many big piles. They were charged RM40 for each plastic bag, RM70 for the second plastic bag and RM100 for the third bag. The plastic bags were supplied by the wholesaler.
One of the men manning the stall told me that the durians were from Serian.
While competing with the other customers to grab the best looking durians, deep inside I wished I had learnt the art of choosing a durian.
Meanwhile, a man beside me was busy blowing loudly at a durian. I did not look at him to avoid embarrassing him but I could hear him.
It was only days later that I learnt the art of choosing a durian from the Internet.
It is said that the factors you should consider when choosing a durian are smell, shape, thorns and appearance.
A durian with a mild raw fruit smell is not ripe while an overpowering smell means that it is too ripe.
You should also look for slight irregularities in the shape of the fruit and also look for thick thorns.
You should also press your thumb between the thorns. If the shell does not give a little under pressure, it means it is not ripe.
Pay attention also to the appearance of the durian. A bad durian may have a mushy inner stem, soggy husk or mushy flesh. The flesh of a good durian is creamy and custardy when opened.
But there is no advice on blowing at a durian on the Internet.
Anyway, when I reached home that day, I discovered that I had managed to pack six medium-sized durians into my plastic bag. One fruit was rotten and full of worms. But the others were all sweet and ripe.
“Not bad,” I complimented myself on my choice of fruits.
I ate some of the fruits but most have ended as ‘tempoyak’ (fermented durian paste) which I stored in the fridge.
‘Tempoyak’, a staple food in Malay culture, is now also loved by other Malaysians including the Chinese and Dayaks. It is made by adding salt to overripe durian and the mixture is then fermented at room temperature for four to seven days.
If kept in the fridge, the ‘tempoyak’ can last for weeks. It is usually fried with chillies and anchovies or cooked with fish, chicken or prawns.
The durian is also used to flavour sweet edibles like traditional Malay candy, ‘ice kacang’, ‘dodol’, milkshakes, ice cream and mooncakes. You can use it to make pancakes and cakes.
On New Year’s Eve, during a steamboat party at a nephew’s house, I also had the opportunity to savour some more durians. He bought two big packets of fruits for RM15 each. However, I am not sure where the fruits came from.
The next day, on New Year’s Day, before sending me home, my nephew bought three big packets of durians for RM50 from a stall in front of the same bank in Stutong. He gave me two packets.
During the short distance to my house, he tied the bag containing the durians onto his windscreen. He did not want the smell of durians in his brand-new car.
Yes, my friends, it’s durian galore not only in Kuching but in other towns like Serian and Bintulu.
According to a newspaper report recently, Sarawak is enjoying an exceptionally abundant durian season this year.
Many durian sellers attribute the bumper crop to favourable weather and improved farming techniques.
I think we, Sarawakians, are very blessed. We get to enjoy so many different exotic fruits including rambutans and mangosteens at different times of the year.
Do you know that the durian is native to the tropics and is thought to have originated in the region of Borneo and Sumatria?
According to Wikipedia, durians are indigenous to Sarawak and the state has 16 unique Durio species, half of which are edible.
Among the durian species in the state are Durian kulit merah, a durian with a bright red exterior, sharp spikes and a strong smell, and Durian kura-kura, a rare variety with pale yellow to brown flesh that grows at the base of the tree.
I am not a durian connoisseur, so I will eat any durian as long as it is good. Never mind if it’s not Musang King or D200 Black Thorn.
If I come across a durian seller, the only questions I will ask him are “Where are the durians from” and “How much do they cost?” Certainly, not the variety.
What about you, my friends? Since it’s the durian season now, let us enjoy the king of fruits as much as we can and while we can.
