Durian

2024-01-21:

Durian #

• Actually pretty damn high in oleic acid. They’re mostly MUFA.
• Bioactive Compounds, Nutritional Value, and Potential Health Benefits of Indigenous Durian (Durio Zibethinus Murr.): A Review

Varieties #

• Identify via shape, spike shape (there are 6 main shapes), shell color, the patterns on the bottom, the stem/crown.

A list from the Year of the Durian book on Penang:

• Musang King: Can’t go wrong

• D600

• Little Red: best fruity variety I’ve had

• Mountain Queen: almost as good as black thorn? 2nd favorite. Pure peanut butter pillows

• D604

• Red Prawn: slimy. Not reaaally my thing

• Lipan: a bit on the lactonic side, and a bit fruity.

• Chinese one I forgot the name of: not bad. Definitely on the creamy side

• Butter: pretty epic

• Native to Penang:

  • D53
  • D63
  • D92 – “Biancheng”
  • D163 – “Hor Lor” or “Gourd”
    • Tastes like peanut butter. I wanna try this one. It’s pretty tall. Curvy, hooked spikes going all over the place.
    • Goopy thick and creamy. 3rd favorite or close 2nd
  • D164 – “Ang Bak” or “Yolk”
  • D165 – “Cheh Chee” or “Green Skin”
  • D166 – “604”
  • D175 – “Red Prawn”
    • Typically dusty grey-brown and football-shaped.
  • D177 – “Penang 15”

• Registered durians common in Penang (these popular durian varieties are easy to find in Penang, even though they’re from other places. Some seem to grow well here, but others like Musang King and D24 are worth waiting to eat in their home state.)

  • D2 – “Dato Nina”
  • D15
  • D18
  • D24 – “Sultan” or “M
  • D99 – “Kop Kecil”
  • D158? Or D130? – “Ganyao”. Ganja is Malaysia’s take on Ganyao, which is from Thailand.
    • Extremely long stem. Tiny thorns. Usually perfectly round.
  • D197 – “Raja Kunyit,” or “Musang King” or “Mao Shan Wong”

• Unregistered durians of Penang :

  • Ang Jin
  • Bak Eu
  • Kapri
  • Gold Fish
  • Lipan “Yak Kang” or “Cetipede
  • Little Red - Xi ǎ o Hóng
  • Kun Poh
  • Susu : about as enjoyable as a glass of skim milk. Retarded seed to flesh ratio as well. Like 3x more than the fluffy varieties
  • Green dragon (aka Green Skin?) Wtf? Literal night and day and not even bitter at all. This matches pictures too): creamiest one yet. PILLOWY. New 2nd fav? Not the most ultra complex though… hor lor might have it beat. But I think it beats mountain queen
  • Black thorn: Amazing. Soo creamy and dense. Probably my fav.

• Native to Thailand:

  • Unlike in Malaysia and the Philippines, it is not customary to consume durian on-site. Thailand has no concept of the all-you-can-eat durian buffet, and durian stalls will almost never have designated tables and chairs for you to eat at. It is expected that you will carry your durian away and eat it at home like a civilized person.
  • Monthong
    • Looks weird and lopsided with curvy spikes. Pretty big.
  • Chanee
    • Has big, blocky spikes, more so than most other varieties.
  • Krandumthong (Gadum/kradum)
    • Pumpkin-shaped. The earliest variety to come, in April-late March.
  •