Have you heard the whispers? It's been going round the island sometime now.Rumour has it that farmers are resorting to this tactic to increase harvest.They pluck the fruits down and ripen them with chemicals.What exactly I do not know but if the 2002 article below is any indication,most are banned.
The quality of our durians are becoming more and more questionable,more so since many have spotted supplies being brought into the island from as far as Johor and even Pahang to cope with the demand.
Not one to take the trouble to go allllll the way up to Bukit Jambul even though some outstation friends will be raving mad about them.No Siree.
Neither am I fanatical or fussy about only devouring the species that's currently 'in' or expensive.Absolutely do not appreciate the udang/red species.
Neither am I fanatical or fussy about only devouring the species that's currently 'in' or expensive.Absolutely do not appreciate the udang/red species.
Ever since the start of the durian season (soon ending) clusters of sellers have cropped up on the roadsides hawking their wares.One would assume that the farm owners themselves would take to the streets but no,a good majority are resellers.
Some are just out to make a quick buck although they may be so clueless in wrestling with it they end up butchering the fruit due to lack of expertise.
Some are just out to make a quick buck although they may be so clueless in wrestling with it they end up butchering the fruit due to lack of expertise.
These temporary vendors initially attract the curious buyers who after a regretful session of poor quality and tasting durians would see them in mid season struggling to sell their wares.Not all are bad,the good ones have their wares wiped out in a matter of hours.Repeat customers and word of mouth see to that.
On the other end of the spectrum,is a mobile van fruit seller next to Sg Kelian hawker centre who somehow seems to be able to muster durians out of thin air almost all year round much like the fella in Macalister Road.This Sg Kelian fella used to be the one I went to if I had sudden cravings off season
.
Yet for the past year I seemed to have developed an intolerance to durians.
Every feast would be followed by a tummy ache.
Every feast would be followed by a tummy ache.
I completely stopped patronising him after the last two purchases lead to a bout of dizziness and vomiting.
At that time I thought nothing of it, that perhaps I had some sort of intolerance or allergy towards them.So I stopped eating durians until this current season.
I tried the temporary night stall near the chinese medicine shop in Fettes Park .No problemo.Upon comparing Sg Kelian to this new source,these were the differences
- Fettes Park's did not deteriorate fast when the casing was removed and the fruits wrapped under cling wrap
- Sg Kelian's would be sweating and the fruit not be firm anymore (it was mushy)even if we took 5 minutes to enjoy it elsewhere.
- Fettes Park's flavour was more robust and texture thick and sticky
- Sg Kelian's was either hard and dry or sweaty and watery
- Sg Kelian's tasted flat at times (the argument was it was the start of the season/end of the season/intermarriage with thai durians)
- MOST important lesson I learnt was that Fettes Park's did not make me feel ill or dizzy,with absolutely no tummy upset THUS preventing smart alecs from scaring me by insisting I should check to see if I had high blood pressure and all that crap
Now we know why thai durians imported into our country are hopelessly flavourless.
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2002 article taken from http://www.digitaljournal.com/
BANGKOK (dpa) - Old Bangkok hands like to tell the story - no doubt apocryphal - about the fat German tourist who devoured a ripe durian, followed by a bottle of Thai Mekong rice whiskey, then took a hot bath and exploded.
The tale's shred of credibility comes from the durian's notorious gaseous, sulphuric content, which accounts for its pungent odour and a taste that is sometimes compared to eating ice cream in a garbage dump.
But for the connoisseur, durian is truly the King of Fruits. And Thailand is, beyond question, the durian capital of the world.
In the April-to-June hot season the smell of fresh and rotting durian seems to permeate nearly every corner of Bangkok, causing durian lovers to swoon and the uninitiated to retch.
Oddly, durian thrives only in Southeast Asia, and not even everywhere in Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
It is native to the Indonesian archipelago. The name durian comes from the Indonesian word meaning "thorny", which describes the durian's spiked, dull green or brownish exterior.
But even on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra, where the fruit are grown commercially, the best durian are called "durian Bangkok".
In Thailand, durian lovers say eating the yellowish, creamy inner fruit causes the body to get hot. Eating it late at night, or with alcohol, is not recommended because sleep will be affected.
Durian is also said to stimulate the libido. According to a Malay saying, "when the durian fall down, the sarongs rise up."
Choosing a good durian can be a challenge even for those with a refined taste for it, according to Bangkok restaurant critic and author Ung Ang Talay, who has been a durian aficionado for some 30 years.
"You should find a durian vendor that you know and trust," he says. "Some people can tell a good durian just by looking at it."
Others rely on their sense of smell or use a bamboo stick to tap the outside of the durian and listen for the right tone.
During the peak April-May durian-eating season, when the Thai markets are overflowing with the stuff, vendors will sometimes be willing to cut a small, triangular piece from the shell and allow customers to poke at the yellow flesh inside to judge its ripeness.
But even this test is not foolproof because in recent years some unscrupulous durian traders have been treating their fruit with chemicals to make them ripen prematurely, rather than leaving them on the tree to ripen naturally.
"It's worse than ever," Ung Ang Talay laments. "When the vendors dip their durian in this chemical the durian ripen artificially. But they taste bland, not sweet or nutty. It's like chewing paper."
The chemical problem has caused a crisis for Thailand's durian exports. Last year, Taiwan rejected its usual large annual shipment of Thai durian when the chemicals were detected.
"If the farmers keep using these chemicals they will kill their own businesses," said Pornpom Laogitpaisal, an official of Thailand's Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.
She said the chemicals, mainly formalin and sulphur solutions, have been banned, but enforcement of the ban has been spotty.
Thailand's durian crop this year is expected to total 890,000 tons, about the same as last year, with about 100,000 tons due to be exported mainly to other Asian markets, with much smaller amounts going to Europe, Australia and North America.
Nearly all the durian exported from Thailand is the popular "mon thong", or "golden pillow" variety.
But there are dozens - some say as many as a hundred - other kinds.
Industry sources say 60-70 per cent of the Thai durian crop is mon thong, which is known for its small seeds and sweet, creamy meat.
But the "gan yao", or "long stem", type of durian also has its fanatic supporters.
"Gan yao are the most expensive durian in my shop," says Pang Sora, who has been proprietor of the Ran Sora specialty durian shop in southern Bangkok for the past 27 years.
"I like gan yao the best myself," she says as she taps a ripe- looking, long-stemmed beauty in front of her shop. "Most of my long- time customers like it best too. In fact, gan yao is our specialty.
"Next month (April) we'll have the most gan yao. Then in May we'll have the most durian of all kinds, mostly from Prachinburi and Chantiburi provinces. A lot in June, too."
These days durian can be enjoyed all year around, although the price is high and availability low in the winter months. During these months, the true fanatics make due with sweetened durian paste and durian ice cream.
In addition to gan yao, early ripening "chanee", or "gibbon," and the ubiquitous mon tong, Pang's shop also carries the more rare "durian boran", or "natural durian" such as "gop", or "frog", durian.
"Most people don't know about the gop durian," she says. "But they are very delicious, very sweet. When we get them in they sell very fast."
Market prices vary from less than 100 baht (2.32 dollars) for a peak-season chanee or mon thong, to 1,000 baht or more for a prime gop or gan yao.
The tale's shred of credibility comes from the durian's notorious gaseous, sulphuric content, which accounts for its pungent odour and a taste that is sometimes compared to eating ice cream in a garbage dump.
But for the connoisseur, durian is truly the King of Fruits. And Thailand is, beyond question, the durian capital of the world.
In the April-to-June hot season the smell of fresh and rotting durian seems to permeate nearly every corner of Bangkok, causing durian lovers to swoon and the uninitiated to retch.
Oddly, durian thrives only in Southeast Asia, and not even everywhere in Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
It is native to the Indonesian archipelago. The name durian comes from the Indonesian word meaning "thorny", which describes the durian's spiked, dull green or brownish exterior.
But even on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra, where the fruit are grown commercially, the best durian are called "durian Bangkok".
In Thailand, durian lovers say eating the yellowish, creamy inner fruit causes the body to get hot. Eating it late at night, or with alcohol, is not recommended because sleep will be affected.
Durian is also said to stimulate the libido. According to a Malay saying, "when the durian fall down, the sarongs rise up."
Choosing a good durian can be a challenge even for those with a refined taste for it, according to Bangkok restaurant critic and author Ung Ang Talay, who has been a durian aficionado for some 30 years.
"You should find a durian vendor that you know and trust," he says. "Some people can tell a good durian just by looking at it."
Others rely on their sense of smell or use a bamboo stick to tap the outside of the durian and listen for the right tone.
During the peak April-May durian-eating season, when the Thai markets are overflowing with the stuff, vendors will sometimes be willing to cut a small, triangular piece from the shell and allow customers to poke at the yellow flesh inside to judge its ripeness.
But even this test is not foolproof because in recent years some unscrupulous durian traders have been treating their fruit with chemicals to make them ripen prematurely, rather than leaving them on the tree to ripen naturally.
"It's worse than ever," Ung Ang Talay laments. "When the vendors dip their durian in this chemical the durian ripen artificially. But they taste bland, not sweet or nutty. It's like chewing paper."
The chemical problem has caused a crisis for Thailand's durian exports. Last year, Taiwan rejected its usual large annual shipment of Thai durian when the chemicals were detected.
"If the farmers keep using these chemicals they will kill their own businesses," said Pornpom Laogitpaisal, an official of Thailand's Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.
She said the chemicals, mainly formalin and sulphur solutions, have been banned, but enforcement of the ban has been spotty.
Thailand's durian crop this year is expected to total 890,000 tons, about the same as last year, with about 100,000 tons due to be exported mainly to other Asian markets, with much smaller amounts going to Europe, Australia and North America.
Nearly all the durian exported from Thailand is the popular "mon thong", or "golden pillow" variety.
But there are dozens - some say as many as a hundred - other kinds.
Industry sources say 60-70 per cent of the Thai durian crop is mon thong, which is known for its small seeds and sweet, creamy meat.
But the "gan yao", or "long stem", type of durian also has its fanatic supporters.
"Gan yao are the most expensive durian in my shop," says Pang Sora, who has been proprietor of the Ran Sora specialty durian shop in southern Bangkok for the past 27 years.
"I like gan yao the best myself," she says as she taps a ripe- looking, long-stemmed beauty in front of her shop. "Most of my long- time customers like it best too. In fact, gan yao is our specialty.
"Next month (April) we'll have the most gan yao. Then in May we'll have the most durian of all kinds, mostly from Prachinburi and Chantiburi provinces. A lot in June, too."
These days durian can be enjoyed all year around, although the price is high and availability low in the winter months. During these months, the true fanatics make due with sweetened durian paste and durian ice cream.
In addition to gan yao, early ripening "chanee", or "gibbon," and the ubiquitous mon tong, Pang's shop also carries the more rare "durian boran", or "natural durian" such as "gop", or "frog", durian.
"Most people don't know about the gop durian," she says. "But they are very delicious, very sweet. When we get them in they sell very fast."
Market prices vary from less than 100 baht (2.32 dollars) for a peak-season chanee or mon thong, to 1,000 baht or more for a prime gop or gan yao.
