The first time a Singaporean friend insisted I try durian, that notoriously stinky Southeast Asian fruit, I feared the worst. I’d heard fellow travelers’ horror stories and read all about how the fruit had been banned in hotels and on Singaporean trains. My friend shrugged all that off and carefully selected one of the spiky fruits at a giant outdoor stall near his home, eliminating the need to smuggle it onto a train. Yes, it smelled like sweaty feet. But when we sliced it open and dug in, I enjoyed my first bites, savoring its sweet flavor and buttercream consistency. Then, after a few more bites, I started to feel a little ill, overwhelmed by the rich, nutty flavor and odor. So I’m not a big fan of durian. 

Still, when I read the New York Times story about a Thai scientist developing an odorless durian, I didn’t feel like celebrating.

Not only do plenty of people like the odor, as the article notes, but the scent is essential to the fruit.

Taking the odor out of durian would water down the whole durian experience. It would be like removing the distinct spikes from the fruit’s exterior.

Oh wait, the scientist is working on that, too.

Photo by Wm Jas, via Flickr (Creative Commons).