Malaysian durians and other similar Southeast Asian varieties that are closer to the wild are always allowed to naturally ripen and drop from the tree. They are always considered a little past their prime if they have any crack showing at all. Thai varieties of durians are a different story; they are always cut from the tree while still green and allowed to ripen off the tree.
A Thai durian allowed to drop naturally from the tree is probably already past its prime. In my early experiences with Thai durians, I would look for the first slight sign of a crack along one of these lines at the bottom of the fruit, as an indication of ripeness. However, as I gained more experience, I discovered that Thai durians opened earlier than that possible only with a knife , before any natural crack appeared, were usually more exquisite than the naturally-cracked fruits.
Early-ripe Thai durians like this usually have a bright freshness, more of a flavor complexity, and an intriguing and tasty succulent-crunchy component surrounding the custardy part, all of which is gone from the very creamy completely-ripe pulp.
I have ruined more than a few Thai durians, or parts of them, that I estimated were at that special stage mentioned above, before they cracked, by cutting into them only to find that they were much too green. For another writer's perspective and experience with this, read Bill Stimson's delightful essay "Opening a Durian" here.
They also often will cut a triangular flap in the rind to show the consistency of the fruit flesh inside, which the prospective customer may peer into, smell, and touch with a fingertip. The same book also reports: Kosiyachina classified consumers of fresh Thai durian into four groups:. Home Page What is a Durian? How to Select a Durian How can you tell if a durian is ripe? You might like it that way. No judgement. In Thailand, the preferred method is to whack the durian a few times using a rubber tipped stick.
When we were given a tour of Sunshine Durian Factory, there was a team wandering about with matching green shirts, their sticks flailing.
If the durian sounds slightly hollow, it means the flesh has softened enough to recede from the shell, and the durian is at least edible. Various levels of hollowness correlate to levels of softness. Know what you like. Using a very thin, needle sharp knife, the vendor stabs the durian, piercing the shell, and then examines the knife.
A lot of vendors and distributors will also lick the knife to test for sweetness, so as to assure quality control. When I first realized that probably every durian I ate in Vietnam had been pricked by a saliva-whetted knife, I kind of felt grossed out. Then I got over it. Using the back of your nails, gently brush along the spines. It should make a rasping noise, sort of like the Mexican Scraper instrument.
If it makes a low rasping noise, like one of those cool wooden frogs, the durian is probably ripe. This is possibly my favorite method, because it never lies. Position your thumb over one of the swollen lobes of durian so that all that separates you from the golden goodness is the half-inch or so of shell. Maneuver your thumb in between the thorns and press down. If the durian is ripe, the shell will actually give a little under pressure, like a hard sponge.
This technique is awesome, but may not work for all durians. Some durians have extremely thick shells that may not give at all under any kind of pressure, despite being ripe. Now, the bad news. None of these techniques will work on a frozen durian. Those of you buying your durians frozen from the Asian grocery will probably never find a properly ripened durian.
Not only was your durian not ripe when it was harvested, it has not a shred of a chance of ripening now. Fruit and then one day this week, we found a fruit pod on the ground. Crazy, out of no where it was there, upon checking there were no other fruits? What gives? How is there only 1? From the 50th state- Hawaii.
Hey Patrick! Are there any other trees around? Keep an eye out for flowers and keep my posted! Did you write that future article on how to pick a ripe durian including the frozen ones? If so, please post the link.
0コメント