(Laugh).
If you've ever smelled this fruit,
you'll probably recall its lingering,
pungent, meaty scent.
There's no fruit more fascinating or
polarizing than the durian.
(Music)
Let's talk a little durian.
These smelly, spiky fruits are native to
southeast Asia and
are a staple to many locals in Indonesia,
Thailand, and Malaysia.
In fact, durian is often referred to
as the king of fruits.
The king of fruits is easy to spot
because the fruit be smelly, yo.
Some people describe it as
rotting flesh while others find it closer
to sweet garbage, and some people love it.
It's actually so polarizing.
It's often banned from hotels, airlines,
and public transit systems outright.
That's enough chit-chat for now.
Let's go try it, no?
We're on our way to Chinatown
to get some durian.
Louise, you excited?
- So excited.
- Did you know that in Thailand and
Bangkok durians are not allowed on
the subway because it stinks it up so bad?
They should ban onion bagels in New York,
am I right?
I think I smell it.
Is this durian?
- Yeah.
- Can I buy one? - Yeah. - Okay.
(Laugh) What does it smell like?
- Smell.
- She's letting me try it.
It's okay.
- (Laugh) Yeah, you can smell it.
- It's not bad.
Yeah, everyone said it will smell like
garbage, but it smells okay.
Well, this was only $24,
which is still pretty expensive, but
that's a really big fruit, so.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, (Foreign) (Laugh).
I'm really excited to try it.
Are you, Louise?
- Yeah.
- We're back in the Mashable office with
this fruit, not going to touch it.
And now for
the taste test.
(Music)
I'm so scared.
(Music)
It tastes like spoiled butter,
it's not great.
(Laugh) I'm not going to have this again.
(Music)
- No, what is this?
(Laugh) - It just tastes like eggs, but
really bad eggs, that's been left out for
a really long time, for like years.
This is gross.
- God. (Music)
Every time I think it tastes good,
it just starts tasting horrible again.
It smells like a trash bag,
it tastes like a trash bag.
- I don't,
the texture is what's throwing me off.
No, no, no, no, no.
Actually, it starts to taste kind of good
the second half.
I don't know,
when it kind of makes its way down,
it kind of clears up, but
then the back half of it, terrible again.
- It tastes like spoiled pineapples baked
in an oven with onions.
- Now that we've got that experience out
of the way, let's talk science.
Why does this fruit smell and
taste so terrible?
According to a study published in
the Journal of Agricultural and
Food Chemistry,
there are 41 compounds in durian that
makes it smell so uniquely pungent.
The researchers also found
four compounds that have honestly never
been identified by scientists before.
Even more interesting, scientists found
that it's not an individual
compound that makes durian smell oniony or
sour, but in fact a mixture of chemicals
that produces the odor.
Ironically, some of the most prominent
chemicals were associated with fruity,
sweet odors.
The oniony-smelling chemicals belong
to a compound rarely found in food before.
So for better or
for worse, but probably for
the better, durian is one of a kind.
Most natural foods that are good for
you smell anywhere from musty,
to funky, to rancid.
I'm looking at you, broccoli.
And durian is def not an exception.
So what's your take on durian?
Do you love it or hate it?
Or if you've never had it before,
are you excited to try it.
It's good to try new things,
just maybe not this new thing,
because that would be a smelly disaster.
(Music)