Name a fruit that originates from Davao City. Some people may respond with banana; others might refer to pomelo. However, when it comes to fruit, Davao is most closely associated with durian, despite its cultivation in other regions of Mindanao.
Durian is also sold in neighboring countries, particularly Thailand and Malaysia. However, when it comes to flavor, Davao durian has a unique taste. The secret to this distinctiveness is found beneath its exterior.
Davao City is located on a volcanic belt, specifically at Mount Apo, the highest peak in the nation. The soil in this area is rich in minerals, including sulfur, which enhances the rich, creamy, and complex flavor of Davao durian.
As such, people – whether locals or visitors – who taste durian in this part of the world are not just eating a durian fruit; they are engaging with the very essence of volcanic soil. It is a flavor molded by the elements of fire.
The fruit, which is covered with thorny spikes, looks as if it comes from hell. But mind you, to those who love it, durian tastes like heaven.
When asked about his favorite fruit, Dr. Hilario Lapeña, a Filipino physician who now works in Canada, replied without much ado: “Durian. Nothing beats it. I have tasted lots of exotic fruits but I still go back to my all-time favorite – durian. Friends who used to say that they hated it are now converts.”
When ripe, the aril (usually referred to as the “flesh” or “pulp”) is usually eaten fresh. By weight, the edible portion (or aril as experts call it) of the durian fruit is only 26% on the average. Sixty percent of it is the rind while the remaining 14% are seeds.
Durian aficionados have their reason for liking the fruit. If eaten without exaggeration, durian is good for your health. The durian flesh contains many nutrients, including calcium, fat, iron, riboflavin, carbohydrates, copper, folic acid, vitamin C, fiber, zinc, niacin, protein, carotene, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, thiamin, and magnesium.
“The fruit is made of soft, easily digestible flesh made of simple sugars like fructose and sucrose that when eaten replenishes energy and revitalizes the body instantly,” nutrition-and-you.com says. “Though it contains relatively higher amounts of fats among the fruits, it is free from saturated fats and cholesterol.”
Potassium is also required to maintain sodium level. Sodium is harmful and can create a spike in blood pressure readings. “Durian itself has a very low amount of sodium making it safe for a safe consumption by patients of hypertension,” notes wiki-fitness.com. “A well balanced blood pressure in turn does not stress out heart and blood vessels resulting in a healthier cardiovascular system.”
Contrary to popular belief, you will not have a big spike in your cholesterol level after eating a durian. “Durian has good monounsaturated fats that can actually lower your harmful cholesterol levels,” points out an article entitled, Myths and Facts about the King of Fruit. In fact, durian has zero cholesterol. Cholesterol is found in foods containing saturated fats such as red meats, seafood, and dairy products.
Another health benefit of durian: it improves digestion. Durian is rich in dietary fiber, a good source of roughage which is critical in absorbing fats and making your stools easy to pass. The insoluble fiber in dietary items is specifically helpful in preventing constipation by adding bulk to stools and also softening them simultaneously. “People who suffer from chronic constipation or experience the painful problem of piles frequently can get a lot of relief by adding fibrous fruits like durian in their diet,” wiki-fitness.com suggests.
One myth about durian is that eating it can boost a person’s libido. Since durian can cause the body temperature to rise, many thought it is an aphrodisiac. It is not. To reduce the burning sensation, some people suggest eating mangosteen. However, there is no scientific research to support this. The habit of eating durians and mangosteen together probably stems from the fact that the two fruits are harvested at about the same time.
Those who are looking for thiamin in their lives, they can count durian in. “Durian contains about 30% of your daily recommended intake in just one serving,” says Joseph Hindy, author of Benefits and Uses of Durian Fruit. “Thiamin can help your body metabolize carbohydrates into energy and it aids in things like muscle and nerve health.”
A serving of durian provides you with 3.6 grams of protein, or 6.4 percent to 7.8 percent of the daily recommended intake of 46 to 56 grams. A study published in the May 2010 issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology indicates that protein from meat and fish may result in increased risk of irritable bowel syndrome, so getting your protein from fruit like durian may be wise if you are at risk of this condition.
Durian is perhaps one of the most controversial fruits ever. “No other fruit creates such conflicting opinions,” wrote Brash. “Throughout Southeast Asia the green, hedgehog-shaped ‘king of the fruits’ is appreciated as haute cuisine to be savored like wine or truffles. Westerners, however, are confounded by the hype because, well, durians smell like road kill wrapped in sweaty socks and have the texture of rotten bananas.”
Not too many know that American author Mark Twain (of Tom Sawyer distinction) also had its share of durian experience. In his book Following the Equator, he wrote of “a most strange fruit” whose “incomparably delicious to the taste, but not to the smell.”
“We found many who had eaten the durian, and they all spoke of it with a sort of rapture,” Twain penned. “They said that if you could hold your nose until the fruit was in your mouth a sacred joy would suffuse you from head to foot that would make you oblivious to the smell of the rind, but that if your grip slipped and you caught the smell of the rind before the fruit was in your mouth, you would faint.”
British naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace had the same experience. After a visit to the Interior of Borneo in 1855, he observed the offensive smell of durian in the house; some persons did not even attempt to taste it. “This was also my own experience when I first tried to taste it in Malacca; but in Borneo, I found a ripe fruit on the ground, and eating it out-of-doors, I became a confirmed durian eater.”
Where does the foul odor come from? In the 1912 issue of the Philippine Journal of Science, O.W. Barrett noted: “The chemical body which is responsible for the very pronounced odor is probably one of the sulfur compounds with some base perhaps related to that in butyric acid; it is not an oil nor a sugar, not a true starch but a substance new to the organic chemist.”
Here’s a timely tip to people visiting Davao and who would like to eat durian. After eating, put some water into the empty durian shell and wash your hands in it. This technique reportedly removed the smell of the durian in your fingers.
Try anything else – detergents, deodorants or whatever, but all these will be useless – the smell will remain just as pungent.
The word “durian” comes from the Indonesian “duri” (thorn) and is botanically known as Durio zibethinus. It is native to Indonesia and Malaysia. It also grows in Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
In the Malay Archipelago, about 150 years ago, famed Victorian naturalist and evolutionary theorist Alfred Russel Wallace wrote, “To eat durian is a new sensation worth a voyage to the East to experience.”
