A headline this morning on my Alexa Show caught my attention, “Hawaii Police Say Thieves Took $1K Worth of Pungent Fruit.” Last week a couple of fruit-loving thieves snuck onto a property at night, stealing 18 durian fruit worth about $1,000. Who knew a stinky food like this could be worth so much? And the bigger question is WHY is this fruit so valuable, considering it has been described as smelling like rotten onions, moldy cheese, and dead fish all rolled into one.
Anthony Bourdain describes the fruit as, “indescribable, something you will either love or despise…Your breath will smell as if you’d been French-kissing your dead grandmother.”
Before I wrote, The Nine, I would have never thought twice about this headline. Now I have an affinity for the pungent fruit. Not because I like to eat it, I’ve actually never tried the stuff, and have no desire to do so anytime in the near or far future. But Gabe, my main character in the book, needed a bizarre “super power” while he was Topside trying to stop an uber-virus from overtaking the world. Enter the durian. Gabe is gifted with super smell for one thing--the durian fruit. Lucky him! This made for some funny scenes that were a blast to write.
When researching Durian, here are some fun facts I learned.
It can weigh between 2-7 pounds.
Because of the smell, the fruit has been banned on public transportation in Thailand, Singapore and Japan.
The durian is called the “king of fruits” by many in Southeast Asia
The fruit is native to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Borneo
It’s high in vitamins and minerals-A,B & C and magnesium, potassium, manganese, and copper, as well as the amino acid tryptophan
It’s high in fiber
When the fruit becomes ripe, it falls from the tree, making it easy to harvest (but no fun if you are standing under the tree)
A Must See Video:
See how these people react to trying durian fruit for the first time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og5e6wLIU18
I hope the police in Hawaii find the fruit fiends. If Durian fruit is as smelly as everyone says, than how hard could it be to sniff them out?
C.G.Harris is the author of The Rax series and The Nine (now available as an audiobook narrated by the talented, MacLeod Andrews)