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Wednesday, 6 August 2008
DURIANS!!!!.....BUUUUUURRRRPPPP!! URRRRGGGHHHH!...HMMMMMMGGHHH! UMMMMHHHHHH!!
A small group of senior citizens seated around a coffee shop table talking about their experiences with various species of ‘kampung’ durians.
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Bought a four wheel drive load of durians near Kijal in Terengganu for family and friends;
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Has been buying durians along the old trunk roads all over the Peninsular but associates the Perak districts of Bukit Berapit, Batu Kurau and Kampong Gajah as places with “good durians”;
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An obvious Penangite proudly says durians from the hills and the valleys of Balik Pulau and Sungai Pinang are the best;
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On the durian trails, there are mounts of durians waiting for the train at the Merapoh Trail station. The huge number of small trucks and lorries leaving the durian plantations of Raub and Bentong for the market at Kuala Lumpur. Johor durians mainly ended up in Johor Bahru and Singapore.
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Hulu Langat and Gombak are areas where you can see heavy flows of motorcycles with huge baskets of durians in the morning. Other areas in Negeri Sembilan and Pahang too have their heavy traffic during the durian season.
Durians come in all shapes – some can sit on its end and their thorns can be long, thin and sharp. Some are broad and shorter.
Colours can be light green, dark green, greyish brown and some with a noticeable pink. Aroma is difficult to describe.
Experts can tell if the pulp is sweet or ‘bitter’. The stronger the aroma the more flavour (am I right?).
Thickness of the skin can be 1/8 inches to about 1 inch. There are durians that can weigh up to five kilograms. Creamy pulp is the most favourable.
Sticky creamy pulps are adored by some. Pulp colours can be white, white greyish, ‘royal yellow’, ‘yellow orange’, ‘yellow greyish’ and orange pink. Thickness of the pulp that covers the whole seed can be ¼ inches to more than an inch, with a small or shrunken seed.
The first sight of a desirable durian is one with pulps as large as three to four inches, in a single compartment. Try to enjoy the first whiff of aroma from a strong aroma durian when the shell is split. The aroma can give a nice ‘kick’.
Every area has its own favourite kampung or hill durian. Some like sweet tasting durian while others prefer their King of Fruits with a heavy flavour that can linger along the throat and taste buds.
There are connoisseurs who are willing to travel the whole country looking for the champion fruit, which have been related to them by other durian die-hards!
To those who are attending the Charity Durian Fest this Sunday August 10 2008 at Subang Parade, GOOD HUNTING!
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