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Irene Gallego Romero
@ee-reh-neh.bsky.social
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Been looking through the wikipedia article on durians, as you do, and I feel so seen by all of these dead white men... It's basically been all I can think about since I returned from Singapore.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the alternate spelling durion was first used in a 1588 translation of The History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China and the Situation Thereof by the Spanish explorer Juan González de Mendoza: There is one, yt is called in the Malaca tongue Durion, and is so good that [...] it doth exceede in savour all others that euer they had seene, or tasted.
Alfred Russel Wallace provided a much-quoted description of the flavour of the durian: The five cells are silky-white within, and are filled with a mass of firm, cream-coloured pulp, containing about three seeds each. This pulp is the edible part, and its consistence and flavour are indescribable. 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. Then there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the pulp which nothing else possesses, but which adds to its delicacy. It is neither acidic nor sweet nor juicy; yet it wants neither of these qualities, for it is in itself perfect. It produces no nausea or other bad effect, and the more you eat of it the less you feel inclined to stop. In fact, to eat Durians is a new sensation worth a voyage to the East to experience. ... as producing a food of the most exquisite flavour it is unsurpassed.
Wallace described himself as being at first reluctant to try it because of the aroma, "but in Borneo I found a ripe fruit on the ground, and, eating it out of doors, I at once became a confirmed Durian eater". He cited one traveller from 1599: "it is of such an excellent taste that it surpasses in flavour all other fruits of the world, according to those who have tasted it." He cites another writer: "To those not used to it, it seems at first to smell like rotten onions, but immediately after they have tasted it they prefer it to all other food. The natives give it honourable titles, exalt it, and make verses on it."
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GTgthibault.bsky.social

I am so pleased that you are now obsessed with the king of fruits - durian. Looking forward to having it on my balcony during your next visit to Singapore.

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Irene Gallego Romero
@ee-reh-neh.bsky.social
Same content, different website!
144 followers96 following55 posts
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