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Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

nytimes.com

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Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#21

Post by ValentineC »

no_carrier wrote: post #20
deanCommie wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious is aversion to durian is at least somewhat genetic, similar to cilantro and broccoli. I spent 6 weeks traveling around Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam), including several days in Bangkok. I ate a metric ton of durian, jackfruit (my favourite), mangostein, lychie, and so forth. I never noted any negative durian odour, and I just assumed that "it must always be fresh in Southeast Asia", an…

It's actually the other way around. The pre-sliced or non-fresh durian tends to have lost a lot of the odour. Hotels and public transport in Thailand don't ban it for no reason.

Durian in Singapore is often sold packed in styrofoam containers, then wrapped with lots of cling wrap.

The smell still gets everywhere, and lingers for a bit.

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#22

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

deanCommie wrote: post #5
Nursie wrote: post #3

On a recent trip to Bangkok it was often hard to tell whether one was approaching an actual open sewer or just a durian stall. Sad I missed the fruit market though, I bet they have a massive variety of banana cultivars. I tried a couple I'd never had before when over there.

I'm curious is aversion to durian is at least somewhat genetic, similar to cilantro and broccoli. I spent 6 weeks traveling around Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam), including several days in Bangkok. I ate a metric ton of durian, jackfruit (my favourite), mangostein, lychie, and so forth. I never noted any negative durian odour, and I just assumed that "it must always be fresh in Southeast Asia", an…

I wasn’t aware that broccoli aversion may be genetic, thanks!

https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/aversion-...

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#24

Post by thaumasiotes »

sg47 wrote: post #16
teruakohatu wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After reading the article I thought the same thing. People who hate cilantro tend to absolutely hate even the thought of it.

I'm in this boat and my wife thinks I'm being fussy. The thought of cilantro wants to make me puke but no one ever seems to relate to it. The worst part is my native cuisine uses cilantro extensively.

> I'm in this boat and my wife thinks I'm being fussy.

I'm curious about the phrasing here; as far as I can see, that's what "being fussy" means.

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#25

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

sg47 wrote: post #18
deanCommie wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious is aversion to durian is at least somewhat genetic, similar to cilantro and broccoli. I spent 6 weeks traveling around Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam), including several days in Bangkok. I ate a metric ton of durian, jackfruit (my favourite), mangostein, lychie, and so forth. I never noted any negative durian odour, and I just assumed that "it must always be fresh in Southeast Asia", an…

I liked durian icecream when I was there but I can't remember if I ate actual durian. I didn't mind the durian icecream but it did taste a bit like garlic icecream (which I have eaten in Gilroy) and jackfruit icecream mixed together.

That’s it!

Durian, to me, tastes like garlic soaked in petrol (“gas” for the Yanks).

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#26

Post by [deleted] »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #25
sg47 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I liked durian icecream when I was there but I can't remember if I ate actual durian. I didn't mind the durian icecream but it did taste a bit like garlic icecream (which I have eaten in Gilroy) and jackfruit icecream mixed together.

That’s it! Durian, to me, tastes like garlic soaked in petrol (“gas” for the Yanks).

[deleted]

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#27

Post by 9nGQluzmnq3M »

The primary limiting factor in distributing these is not that they're hard to eat: pineapples are a pain too, but they're available everywhere, while many of the fruit listed (eg. rambutan, salak/snakefruit, langsat/duku) are trivial to peel.

Instead, it's simply that they don't transport well. Most tropical fruit available in the West are picked raw, kept refrigerated and chemically ripened on arrival, but this isn't possible for most of the fruit listed, certainly not mangosteens or langsat/duku.

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#28

Post by mangamadaiyan »

harikb wrote: post #13

As someone who grew up in southern India in a house literally surrounded by at least few dozens of these trees[1], most of them also hosting black pepper creepers, I wonder how this became Thai Fruit? Come on, we even have a western name! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackfruit

The Durian isn't unique to Thailand either. None of the fruits in the article are, I'd wager. TFA even mentions a falling jackfruit injuring a man in Southern India.

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#30

Post by chihuahua »

moneytide1 wrote: post #29

"when the rising mercury concentrates sugars" Mercury is not capitalized here, which makes a huge difference. In assuming astrological Mercury, not somehow the element?

I assume it's a reference to rising temperature. Thermometers used to contain mercury which expands when heated.
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