Jackfruit is a gigantic, green-gold lopsided monstrosity that looks more like an alien cocoon than a fruit. It’s weird, it’s stinky, it’s totally exotic. But is it a durian? Is it related to durian? No. It’s not anything like durian. Not the teensiest bit. Without further ado, this is Jackfruit vs durian. It’s pretty common for people […]
Durian Belanda
Durian Belanda was first offered to me as a sweet white smoothie while Rob and I were traveling in Java. It didn’t smell, taste, or look anything like a durian smoothie, and I wondered just what exactly I had just sipped. Always being curious about durian things, and hoping I hadn’t just tasted something gross, […]
Wood Apple
One evening wandering around Kandy, Sri Lanka, Rob and I noticed a small juice shop. I’d been wanting to try a Wood Apple juice, the pulverized beverage of a sweet and funky fruit with a flavor like tamarind cream cheese. We ordered our drinks and sat down in the corner of the busy shop to […]
Marang
There’s another fruit that westerners often confuse with durian (like jackfruit), but it’s a closer relative to breadfruit. Marang has a distinct sweet odor and like durian is not allowed in airports, as Rob and I found out when we tried to leave Davao. Marang is a perfectly round or oblong fruit covered in a […]
The Stinkiest Fruit: Wani
Richard Sterling wrote that durian smells like “pig-shit, turpentine, and onions, garnished with a gym sock.” Others who share his opinion have added blue cheese, rotting meat, public toilets, and dog farts to the list of interesting odorific comparisons. I actually quite like the odor of durian. To me it smells like… durian, which equals […]
