Can durian really kill you? The strange truth about the world’s smelliest fruit
The ‘King of Fruits’ is pungent, healthy, and potentially deadly.
The legendary durian fruit hails from Southeast Asia and is famous for a couple of things – but most notably, the fact that it smells. Some think its aroma is wonderful, while most think very much the opposite, but all sides agree that the odour is unique and incredibly strong. In Southeast Asia and popular export markets like China, the first reference or encounter many will have with the fruit will be public signs banning it.
Where does durian originate?
Known as ‘The King of Fruits’, durian is native to Borneo (an island shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei) but is now farmed across Asia. All it needs is somewhere consistently hot, as the fruit stops growing when the average temperature drops below 22 Celsius (72 Fahrenheit). It is primarily farmed in Southern India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Hainan (a Chinese island), and Thailand.
Thailand is the top exporter of durian by quite a wide margin. Even though the fruit isn’t native to the country, it grows well there, producing somewhere between 1.4 and 2 million tonnes yearly, over 90% of which is exported to China. The Thai region of Chanthaburi is responsible for about half of all durian production in the country and, consequently, is the location of the World Durian Festival every May — something to keep in mind if you love or hate the stuff.
Malaysia and Indonesia are the next largest producers, trailing Thailand by a considerable distance.
What does it look like?
Durian comes in about 30 varieties, but they are generally pretty similar. The outer shell is green to brown and covered in spikes. They grow typically to about a foot long (30 centimetres) and six inches in diameter (15 centimetres) and weigh two to seven pounds (one to three kilos). The fruit is essentially hard, heavy, and covered in spikes, and they grow on trees that can reach 150 feet tall (50 metres). So try not to walk under them.
Once you crack open the shell, you’ll find the flesh of the fruit. It is usually light yellow in colour, but some varieties are more orange. The fruit lifts right out in a few chunks or pods, with the soft, fibrous, fleshy parts surrounding a hard brown seed.
It’s time to talk about the smell…
There is no denying the fact that durian has a powerful smell. I happen to live in Thailand, and as mentioned, it produces more durian than anywhere else. Yet there are still signs everywhere banning the fruit — public transport and hotels in particular. My condo hasn’t banned them, but durians can only be disposed of in the main rubbish area outside on the ground floor. Thai people might love durian, but even they will happily acknowledge that it reeks.
It is banned on most public transport in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Durian is popularly regarded as the national fruit of Singapore – though the city-state has no official national fruit – and a building called The Esplanade in prominent Marina Bay was even designed to look like one. Even so, carrying the fruit is banned on all transport, including taxis. The smell not only fills any available space, but it also lingers like, well, like a bad smell.
I love durian and don’t mind the smell too much. It’s not nice, but I am ok with it. However, whenever there is durian anywhere in my condo building, its presence is felt for a while. I think it smells a bit like over-ripe banana skins with a strong blend of unwashed feet. In Thailand, there are numerous durian festivals and even all-you-can-eat buffets and although they are usually held outside, the range and intensity of the stink are impressive.
What famous people have to say about it:
Most people smelling durian for the first time are probably not going to like it. For example:
“Its odour is best described as pig-sh*t, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away.” Richard Sterling, food writer.
“Like eating raspberry blancmange in the lavatory.” — Anthony Burgess, Novelist
Like myself, a common opinion is to try and get over the smell to enjoy the fruit. The late and lamented Anthony Bourdain loved durian, yet admits:
“Like pungent, runny French cheese … Your breath will smell as if you’d been French-kissing your dead grandmother.” — Anthony Bourdain, Chef, writer and TV Host.
So it smells. And I can personally attest that once you’ve eaten some durian and you belch at any time for hours afterwards, that smell will return with a vengeance.
Does it taste nice?
This is surely the most important aspect. The durian’s intensity, flavour and smell all alter depending on the ripeness. Traditionally, you wait for the fruit to fall naturally. This is not possible with the way it is farmed these days, so ripeness needs checking.
In Thailand, they try not to let it get over-ripe. This has the added advantage that it doesn’t smell quite as much, although that is relative — it will still out-smell all other fruit. As it is fresh, the experience is not quite as over-powering as when it has been exported and/or ripened further, so the flavour changes slightly.
I love durian but can only eat one or two chunks at a time before it starts to overwhelm my senses. There is no other fruit even vaguely like it. On the surface, it tastes like a slightly fibrous custard. But an intense custard, if you can imagine such a thing.
The texture gradually softens, and the sweetness grows the riper it becomes, so individual tastes vary. After the initial bite, a lot of other, more subtle flavours start to emerge. Here are two famous attempts at describing it:
“Yes, I freely admit that when ripe it can smell like a dead animal. Yes, the fruit is difficult to handle, bearing likeness to a medieval weapon. But get down to the pale yellow, creamy flesh, and you’ll experience overtones of hazelnut, apricot, caramelized banana and egg custard. That’s my attempt at describing durian. But words fail; there is no other fruit like it.” — Thomas Fuller, New York Times Journalist.
“A rich custard highly flavoured with almonds gives the best general idea of it, but there are occasional wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, sherry-wine, and other incongruous dishes.” — Alfred Russel Wallace, 19th-century British Naturalist.
So – can durians kill you?
If you spend enough time in Asia, you will be warned not to drink alcohol with durian. Because you’ll die. It is a very common belief throughout Southeast Asia, and everyone will have a story proving it. From personal experience and that of friends of many nationalities, this is not true. If you have a few beers with durian, you’ll be fine. But, only in moderation as there is some science behind the idea that overindulgence could be dangerous.
Durian and alcohol
Without getting too into the science of it all, a study by the University of Tsukuba found that the high sulphur content in durians inhibits enzymes that help to break down alcohol. However, there’s no evidence that this has led directly to anyone dying. The most likely outcomes of too much booze and durian are nausea, vomiting, bloating, and maybe even heart palpitations. So, while it is unlikely you will die, it is best to avoid mixing the two if possible.
There has been death by durian
People have been killed by durians. Possibly dozens a year, as many would go unreported, but it is not as sinister as it sounds. There are two ways it tends to kill.
Overindulgence while having a pre-existing condition — There have been a few cases where people with hypertension and diabetes have died after eating way too many durians. There was a case in Thailand where a man ate five entire durians on his own before dying of a heart attack.
Another case in the Philippines occurred where a man with pre-existing conditions ate an entire basket of the fruit, washed down with Coca-Cola and promptly had heart failure.
However, these cases are rare and extreme.
Hit by a durian or the durian tree — This is the most common. Durians are hard, heavy and spiked. Attach a stick to it and it would make a good weapon. There have been numerous cases of death by unfortunate timing, with the heavy fruit landing on someone’s head. Also, while the trees can occasionally exceed 150 feet, the roots are surprisingly shallow. Combine this with monsoons or typhoons, and a lot of houses have been crushed. Again, this is tragic, but it is not frequent. And there isn’t a lot you can do about it.
Conclusion
If you ever get a chance to eat durian, be open-minded and give it a go. If you manage to make peace with the smell, you may find yourself with a new obsession. Or not. There is nothing like it, and people seem to fall squarely on one side of the love/hate divide.
As to its safety… It’s inadvisable to get massively drunk and then eat half a dozen entire fruits while sitting under a durian tree. Otherwise, it is pretty safe.
A slightly different version of this story was originally published on my Medium publication. This has been rewritten slightly and some of the facts and figures have been updated.
