How to destroy friendships: Durian

I love durian. Hands down, my favorite fruit.

 

The only problem is, the stench repels people, and it has to be imported ($14 for one of these babies). Oh yeah, and it's a @$!@$ to open.

 

Choosing one is fairly simple; I look for ones that have thawed a bit, and more brown than green, with as many compartments as possible (around 7-ish?). They should still have that pungent smell (Since it's frozen, I have to put my nose close to the fruit. I think smelling it also helps you know if it's ripe enough or not).

 

 

And now the danger; cracking the dang thing. My uncle did it by dropping it a few times so that a crack could form, but I've seen some people just hack away with a cleaver. The key thing is to find where the needles are more concentrated and tighter; that's where you know there's a split that divides the different compartments of fruit.

 

After creating a crack, you have to pry it open with your fingers. Using a knife is definitely helpful, so hack when necessary :D

Look at this beauty. It is beautiful. It is.

You can tell if there is still fruit left by observing the needles again, or by feeling the slices of the durian. Apparently, the tradition with durian is to put salt and water in the compartments and drink from it..that's what my uncle did. Some say it's to cool you down (this is Vancouver though, haha), and also to wash your hands from the smell...but I really don't know. I think it's more of a tradition than a proven fact.