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DURIAN-- OUR COUNTRY'S GIFT OF GOD

The durian is grown intensively and commercially for its fruit only in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

  In India, there are no large orchards or commercial plantings of Durian, but for some trees in and around Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu) and West Coast. 

The durian is a seasonal fruit, unlike some other non-seasonal tropical fruits such as the papaya, which are available throughout the year. In Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, the season for durians is typically from June to August, which coincides with that of the mangosteen. Prices of durians are relatively high as compared with other fruits. For example, in Singapore, the strong demand for high quality cultivars such as the D24, Sultan, and Mao Shan Wang has resulted in typical retail prices of between S$8 to S$15 (US$5 to US$10) per kilogram of whole fruit. With an average weight of about 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb), a durian fruit would therefore cost about S$12 to S$22 (US$8 to US$15). The edible portion of the fruit, known as the aril and usually referred to as the "flesh" or "pulp", only accounts for about 15-30% of the mass of the entire fruit. Many consumers in Singapore are nevertheless quite willing to spend up to around S$75 (US$50) in a single purchase of about half a dozen of the favoured fruit to be shared by family members.

In-season durians can be found in mainstream Japanese supermarkets, while in the West they are sold mainly by Asian markets.

[edit]Flavour and odour

Durian tree begins to bear fruits within 5 to 7 years. Trees grow up to 50 metre tall. Grafted clones about 20 metres. Young tree bears about 50 fruits. Mature tree between 15 and 25 year old have as many as 100 or more.

The fruit takes about 16 weeks to develop.  A 50 year old tree can produce between 200 and 400 fruits during good season. If dry season is too short or absent altogether (raining season) it may occasionally not bear fruit for 1 to 2 years.

Young trees do not need excessive amount of fertilizers as the roots system is not elaborate enough to absorb excess nutrients. Durian trees need high amount of Potassium, Magnesium, Manganese and copper.

Prunning of branches lower than 2 meters from ground in young budded trees can reduce i

nfection.

Nutritional and medicinal

Durian (Durio zibethinus)

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	615 kJ (147 kcal)
Carbohydrates	27.09 g
- Dietary fiber	3.8 g
Fat	5.33 g
Protein	1.47 g
Water	65g
Vitamin C	19.7 mg (24%)
Potassium	436 mg (9%)
Edible parts only, raw or frozen. Refuse: 68% (Shell and seeds) Source: USDA Nutrient database[53] Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.

Durian fruit contains a high amount of sugar, vitamin C, potassium, and the serotonergic amino acid tryptophan, and is a good source of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. It is recommended as a good source of raw fats by several raw food advocates, while others classify it as a high-glycemic food, recommending to minimise its consumption.

In Malaysia, a decoction of the leaves and roots used to be prescribed as an antipyretic. The leaf juice is applied on the head of a fever patient. The most complete description of the medicinal use of the durian as remedies for fevers is a Malay prescription, collected by Burkill and Haniff in 1930. It instructs the reader to boil the roots of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis with the roots of Durio zibethinus,Nephelium longan, Nephelium mutabile and Artocarpus integrifolia, and drink the decoction or use it as a poultice.

In the 1920s, Durian Fruit Products, Inc., of New York City launched a product called "Dur-India" as a health food supplement, selling atUS$9 for a dozen bottles, each containing 63 tablets. The tablets allegedly contained durian and a species of the genus Allium from India and vitamin E. The company promoted the supplement saying that it provides "more concentrated healthful energy in food form than any other product the world affords"

Customs and beliefs

Southeast Asian traditional beliefs, as well as traditional Chinese medicine, consider the durian fruit to have warming properties liable to cause excessive sweating. The traditional method to counteract this is to pour water into the empty shell of the fruit after the pulp has been consumed and drink it.An alternative method is to eat the durian in accompaniment with mangosteen, which is considered to have cooling properties.

 Pregnant women or people with high blood pressure are traditionally advised not to consume durian.

Another common local belief is that the durian is harmful when eaten with coffee or alcoholic beverages.

 The latter belief can be traced back at least to the 18th century whenRumphius stated that one should not drink alcohol after eating durians as it will cause indigestion and bad breath. In 1929, J. D. Gimlette wrote in his Malay Poisons and Charm Cures that the durian fruit must not be eaten with brandy. In 1981, J. R. Croft wrote in his Bombacaceae: In Handbooks of the Flora of Papua New Guinea that "a feeling of morbidity" often follows the consumption of alcohol too soon after eating durian. Several medical investigations on the validity of this belief have been conducted with varying conclusions, though a study by the University of Tsukuba finds the fruit's high sulphur content caused the body to inhibit the activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase, causing a 70% reduction of the ability to clear toxins from the body.

The Javanese believe durian to have aphrodisiac qualities, and impose a set of rules on what may or may not be consumed with it or shortly thereafter.

 A saying in Indonesian,durian jatuh sarung naik, meaning "the durian falls and the sarong comes up", refers to this belief. The warnings against the supposed lecherous quality of this fruit soon spread to the West—the Swedenborgian philosopher Herman Vetterling commented on so-called "erotic properties" of the durian in the early 20th century.

RED DURIAN

Even westeners are crazy for Durians.

A durian falling on a person's head can cause serious injuries

 because it is heavy, armed with sharp thorns, and can fall from a significant height. Wearing a hardhat is recommended when collecting the fruit. Alfred Russel Wallace writes that death rarely ensues from it, because the copious effusion of blood prevents the inflammation which might otherwise take place. A common saying is that a durian has eyes and can see where it is falling because the fruit allegedly never falls during daylight hours when people may be hurt. A saying in Indonesian, ketiban durian runtuh, which translates to "getting a fallen durian", means receiving an unexpected luck or fortune.^[66] Nevertheless, signs warning people not to linger under durian trees are found in Indonesia.

A

A naturally spineless variety of durian growing wild in Davao, Philippines, was discovered in the 1960s; fruits borne from these seeds also lacked spines. Since the bases of the scales develop into spines as the fruit matures, sometimes spineless durians are produced artificially by scraping scales off immature fruits.^[4] In Malaysia, a spinesless durian clone D172 is registered by Agriculture Department on 17 Jun 1989. It was called "Durian Botak" (Bald Durian).^[14] In Indonesia, Professor Ir Sumeru Ashari MagrSc PhD, Head of Durian Research Centre, Universitas Brawijaya reported spinesless durian from Kasembon, Malang. Another cultivar is from Lombok, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia.,

Other than humans, animals such as Sumatran elephants are known to consume durian. Curiously, carnivorous Sumatran tiger are also known to consume durian occasionally.^[70]The strong odour of the fallen fruits in the jungle probably attracted the tiger to inspect the fruit and lick it.^[71]

[edit]Cultural influence

Singapore's Esplanade building, nicknamed "The Durian"

The durian is commonly known as the "King of the Fruits", a label that can be attributed to its formidable look and overpowering odour. In its native southeastern Asia, the durian is an everyday food and portrayed in the local media in accordance with the cultural perception it has in the region. The durian symbolised the subjective nature of ugliness and beauty in Hong Kong director Fruit Chan's2000 film Durian Durian (榴槤飄飄, lau lin piu piu), and was a nickname for the reckless but lovable protagonist of the eponymous Singaporean TV comedy Durian King played by Adrian Pang. Likewise, the oddly shaped Esplanade building in Singapore is often called "The Durian" by locals, and "The Big Durian" is the nickname of Jakarta, Indonesia.

One of the names Thailand contributed to the list of storm names for Western North Pacific tropical cyclones was 'Durian', which was retired after the second storm of this name in 2006. Being a fruit much loved by a variety of wild beasts, the durian sometimes signifies the long-forgotten animalistic aspect of humans, as in the legend of Orang Mawas, the Malaysian version of Bigfoot, and Orang Pendek, its Sumatran version, both of which have been claimed to feast on durians. Thanks WIKIPEDIA

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