Do picked durian and fallen durian taste different?

More than a hundred years ago, the famous British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace spent eight years traveling in the Malay Archipelago. During this time, he was obsessed with a fruit called durian, and even said that eating durian was " a major event in life that is worth traveling all the way to the East to experience ."

Wallace's observations and experiences in the Malay Archipelago are recorded in the book "Natural Science Expedition to the Malay Archipelago" | Wikimedia Commons

In addition to praising durian, Wallace also vividly described the dangers of this fruit: after the fruit begins to ripen, it falls almost every day or even every hour, hitting passers-by under the tree from time to time. When a durian falls from the sky and hits someone, the injury is not too light, and the hard thorns often tear the skin and flesh. A chief was hit on the head by a falling durian and thought he would die, but fortunately he was safe later.

Durian is a fruit with such a strong temperament that it requires special means to pick it. After the following video of picking durian went viral online, netizens have become more respectful with every bite of durian.

The huge durian was cut off from the branch, rushed to the ground at high speed, and then sacked into a sack.

It’s just picking a durian, but there are different schools of thought?

In fact, the way to pick durian varies according to different countries and regions and different eating habits. There are two main schools: the first is the tree picking method represented by Thailand; the second is the mature falling method represented by Malaysia .

Although Thailand and Malaysia border each other in the west and are geographically close, the two countries have very different ways of eating durian. The Thai public prefers the flesh to be hard on the outside and soft on the inside, with moderate sweetness , and a certain chewiness when eaten, while the Malaysian public prefers the flesh to be soft, tender, and sweet with a hint of bitterness . These two consumer preferences for durian flesh also determine the local durian picking method to a certain extent - Thai durian must be picked and left to ripen to achieve this effect, while Malaysian durian must fall naturally after ripening on the tree.

Blackthorn Durian from Penang, Malaysia | The Naughty Scholar

The durian that falls from the tree is very mature. The fruit is fully ripe, has a strong aroma, and the flesh (aril) is plump enough. It becomes soft when pressed with your fingers but does not stick to your hands.

Musang King Durian | The Naughty Scholar

Malaysia has always adhered to the principle that naturally ripened durian is the best, and believes that durian cut from Thailand is soulless . The Malaysian tourism industry also often uses the fancy copywriting of "you can only wait to fall, you will not be picked by humans" to give a self-ripening durian a noble origin.

How does durian get from the tree to your mouth?

Thai people prefer to pick durian from the tree, which is inseparable from the characteristics of durian. Durian is a typical tropical fruit with respiratory climacteric effect . When it is picked when it is close to maturity, the flesh will undergo obvious changes due to respiration, and generally become sweeter, softer and more fragrant . This picking method facilitates the long-distance and long-term transportation of durian. Therefore, in large-scale international trade, Thai durian is basically used in picked fruits.

Durian in Thailand is basically picked by hand | Tuchong Creative

The specific maturity of the durian to be picked depends on the sales area. If it is sold locally or nearby, you can pick durians that are relatively mature , such as 80-90% ripe or nearly fully ripe. Because the transportation time is short, if you pick them in the early morning of the day, they can be transported to the fruit stall within 1 day and sold out within 2-3 days. The durian will not go bad and lose its commodity value.

If it is exported to China or other faraway countries, the journey is long, so generally pick durian when it is about 80% ripe . In order to maintain the quality and freshness of durian during transportation, there are two key points that cannot be ignored, one is the respiration of the durian itself, and the other is the growth of bacteria .

The most important thing during durian transportation is to keep it fresh | Tuchong Creative

In view of these two points, low temperature treatment is very necessary. By using cold transport containers , the temperature of the containers is reduced to about 10-15℃, which greatly reduces the breathing rate of the durian pulp and slows down the reproduction and proliferation of bacteria. During transportation, the temperature should be adjusted in time according to the state of the durian. When the container is opened in China , the fruit is still hard, with a fragrant durian flavor but not open. This is the best state .

In addition to physical cooling, durians also need to be sterilized before loading into containers. The main method is to soak them in a fungicide solution mainly containing turmeric powder , and then ventilate or blow dry them. A thin sterilization film will form on the surface of the durian shell, reducing the growth and spread of microorganisms on the durian shell.

The powder left on the surface of this durian is turmeric powder | The naughty scholar

Durian must be ripe when it is picked, otherwise it will not be ripe later, and will have no fragrance and taste bland. The Thai Ministry of Agriculture has clear legal provisions on this. If you pick durian in advance and sell it, lowering the quality of Thai durian, you may be sentenced to 3 years in prison and a fine of 12,000 yuan . But in fact, many orchards sometimes pick unripe durian in advance in order to be the first to go on the market and sell it at a good price. In China, it is commonly known as dead or raw durian .

Raw durian flesh is half-cooked, tastes crunchy and has no sweetness | The naughty scholar

Although durian has a rough skin and thick flesh, it still needs extra care when picking. Before picking, be careful not to let the fruit get wet in the rain. Even if it gets wet, wait until the water dries up before picking, otherwise it will easily breed bacteria . Picking work is usually done by experienced veterans, so the probability of picking the fruit will be greatly reduced. When picking, use a sack to catch it, and don't drop it directly on the ground, because dropping it on the ground will damage the thorns and increase the risk of bacteria taking advantage of the opportunity to enter .

Since there is no mechanized means at present, durian picking is still a relatively dangerous job, and workers are injured every year while picking durian.

So it really makes sense that an ordinary durian is sold at such a high price. You should just cherish it when eating it.

Author: The Unruly Scholar

Cover image source: Tuchong Creative

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)

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