"Opening Durian Blind Box" is popular again. Here are four tips to help you pick out the "Love Lotus of Your Dreams" with the highest probability.

Durian, controversial because of its rich aroma, is a fruit that people both love and hate.

Recently, a "durian blind box craze" has once again swept the short video platform. A durian blind box means buying a whole durian, prying open the shell and seeing how much durian meat you can get in the end. Buying durian depends entirely on luck. As the name suggests, opening a durian is like opening a blind box. You may get a surprise, or you may be disappointed.

How to judge and select better quality durian?

According to Gu Ruili, an expert from Henan Provincial Food Inspection Institute, there are many varieties of durian on the market. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the following points:

1. Look at the appearance

The thorns of a ripe durian fruit are relatively soft, and adjacent thorns can easily approach each other. If the thorns are hard, it means the fruit is relatively raw.

You can also judge the maturity of durian by pressing the fruit to see how soft and hard it is. If it feels soft and elastic, the fruit is ripe.

2. Look at the size and color

Generally speaking, larger fruit grains are more mature. Mature fruit grains are yellowish in color, such as light yellow or dark yellow. If they are bluish, it means the fruit is relatively raw.

3. Look at the degree of cracking

Usually, mature fruits will have some cracks, but of course the cracks cannot be too big, otherwise the flesh will be contaminated.

4. Smell

The ripe fruit has a strong smell, while the half-ripe fruit has a green smell. However, if you smell alcohol, it means that the durian has gone bad.

By following the above four points, you will be able to pick out a not-too-bad durian to the greatest extent possible.

Why does durian stink so much?

As the most famous "heavy-tasting" tropical fruit, durian is praised by those who like it as a "lingering" delicacy because of its unique taste and pungent smell, but is also despised by those who hate it as smelly. Its smell is often compared to onions and sulfur.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the important component of durian's smell is volatile sulfide, which is often described as rancid, oniony, rotten egg, sulfur, etc. Researchers have identified a group of genes related to volatile sulfide, which are highly active when durian is ripe, giving durian fruit a strong smell. In fact, these genes are also contained in the genome of ordinary plants, but generally only a single copy or two copies, while the durian genome contains 4 copies, which greatly increases the content of volatile sulfide in durian fruit. The copy number refers to the number of a gene in the entire genome.

Researchers believe that genes related to volatile sulfides are very important for wild durian, as the strong smell can attract animals to eat its fruits, thereby helping to spread its seeds.

Is it true that durian cannot be eaten with alcohol or seafood?

There are two theories circulating online about durian and food incompatibility:

1. Do not drink alcohol when eating durian, especially within 8 hours after drinking, which is the time required for alcohol to be completely decomposed. It is more harmful for diabetic patients to eat durian and drink alcohol at the same time, which can cause blood vessel blockage, and in severe cases, blood vessel rupture and stroke.

2. Durian cannot be eaten with seafood. Because seafood is a cold food, and durian is a hot food, eating them together will cause severe gastrointestinal discomfort, leading to diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc.

Is the above true? Of course not.

Let’s first dispel the rumor that durian is incompatible with alcohol. Zhang Yu from the Institute of Nutrition and Health at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that durian does contain sulfur components (which is one of the sources of durian’s unique smell). These components can reduce the activity of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase in the liver, which in turn determines the rate at which the liver metabolizes alcohol. So eating durian will affect alcohol metabolism, which is also the basis for the rumor. But the fact is that the extent to which these sulfur components reduce alcohol metabolism activity is very limited, and it is also closely related to the amount of durian eaten and the type of durian. In other words, eating durian normally does affect the activity of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, but it is only a slight effect, not as serious as the rumor says. It will not cause alcohol poisoning, let alone induce disease and death.

The claim that eating seafood together can cause severe gastrointestinal discomfort is attributed to diarrhea, allergies and other problems caused by the so-called food incompatibility. In fact, it is caused by the uncleanness of a certain food itself, or the eater's own food allergy. Secondly, any eating behavior must be timely, moderate and appropriate. The "heat" symptoms of durian and certain foods may be caused by excessive consumption. Eating too much of any food will increase the burden of food digestion and nutrient absorption, thereby affecting the secretion of body fluids and hormones, and even inducing organ and immune dysfunction. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand the symptoms such as yellow urine, toothache, and sore throat.

How can we maximize the preservation time?

1. Natural preservation: If you have not opened the durian after purchasing it, you can directly put it in a cool and ventilated place. It is best to wrap it with a layer of cardboard before storage. This storage method can extend the storage time of durian by three to four days.

2. Refrigerate: If you can’t finish eating the durian, you can take out the pulp and put it in a fresh-keeping box. After sealing, put the fresh-keeping box in the refrigerator for storage. This will ensure that the durian will not deteriorate for about a week.

3. Frozen storage: After taking out the durian pulp, wrap it with plastic wrap and then store it in the freezer of the refrigerator. This will allow the durian to be preserved for several months without deteriorating. When eating, take it out and melt it before eating. It is cool and refreshing and especially tempting.