Gastric Triumph

I have done it. I have consumed the only Asian food that Andrew Zimmern could not bring himself to stomach: the durian. For those still living in desolation without cable TV (my parents included, I only watch at school), Andrew Zimmern hosts one of my favorite shows on the Travel Channel, creatively titled Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. In this hour-long gustatory extravaganza, Zimmern circles the globe consuming whatever fare is served to him, from eyeballs to arthropods. All, that is, except durian: the king of the fruits, which on two occasions he has been forced to spit out, declaring something along the lines of, “that is the most foul thing I have ever eaten”.

Gotta try it.

The fruit itself looks like a cross between a porcupine and a football, with spines so pointy that it’s very painful to handle it without picking it up by the stem (I know, I tried this too). After the helpful fruit man with the large machete opens it, one finds a series of pale yellow segments with a strong odor. Zimmern compares it to smelly socks and/or rotting meat. This smell can be so strong that in most of Southeast Asia, hotels will have you escorted from the premises if you try to bring one in. For all the build-up, I couldn’t tell what all the fuss was about. Sure, it didn’t smell like daisies at the perfume convention, but it didn’t smell like socks either.

Ok, go time. Biting into it didn’t taste especially terrible, but texturally, the durian has no equivalent, except for possibly really rotten peaches. For lack of a better word, it “gooifies” when you bite it. Still, I think Mr. Zimmern certainly overreacted. The durian does not deserve the gag-inducing stigma that western palates have placed on it. I might even eat it again if the mood strikes. That said, my buddy Andy still has me beat in the consumption of strange organ meats department. But who knows, I still have a lot of Thailand left.

PS: If I ever form a rock band, I'm pretty sure we'll be called “Gastric Triumph”.