Durian, or the scientific name is Durio zibethinus, is widely known and revered in Southeast Asia as the “King of Fruits,” the fruit is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and a formidable thorn-covered husk. Its name comes from the Malay word duri (thorn) together with Malay suffix that is -an (for building a noun in Malay), meaning “thorny fruit.”
The fruit can grow up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 15 centimetres (6 in) in diameter, and typically weighs one to three kilograms (2 to 7 lbs). Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its husk green to brown and its flesh pale-yellow to red, depending on species. The hard outer husk is covered with sharp, prickly thorns, while the edible custard-like flesh within emits the strong, distinctive odour, which is regarded as either fragrant or overpowering and offensive. The taste of the flesh has been described as nutty and sweet.
The durian smell…
Quoted from Richard Sterling
… its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia.
Good luck!
Resources: Answers.com
{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s kind of cool people still associate Sabah as a place of strange stuff and unique…
Yeah… Really cool eh? I am going to put tarap and bambangan after this…
lols..is that real durian..never see it before in peninsular malaysia. who ever taste the durian, what the taste look like…
Yes!
IT IS A REAL DURIAN! And the photo was taken here in Beaufort, south of Kota Kinabalu.
I never taste it, but will do soon.
we have that here in brunei too…probably can be found on the whole island of borneo….
Yes, you are correct babe…
ah.. if i’m not mistaken the locals calls them “dahit”..
i like “hampun” better.
waa.. interesting colour..
i miss bambangan and tarap =(
p/s can i posted the picture in my blog?
with your permission..
Sure can…
Just give me a link love back to this post, okay!
have u seen white colour kelapa sawit.
No, Tola. Send me the photo if you have one!
Drizad,
The red colour durian can be found at Kelantan State, Kuala Krai district.
The thorn is a bit longer than the normal durian. Usual called as Durian Hutan, sale by the local natives during the season.
durians like any other food – eg. cheese, blue cheese etc have its own fans and nons.
funny some ppl like blue cheese but cant stand durians.
agree with you, durians are nice
QuaChee: Yes, I agree that those blue cheese taste horrible!!!
Hehehe…
never tasted a red one… im pretty sure it tastes the same as the normal ones… and i like blue cheese… that smells like cow dung as oppose to pig shit!!!
holy cow… whoever says that durian smells like pigshit or a combination of gym socks, tupentine, etc., is totally a liar. yes, it’s true that durian is not for everyone but it CERTAINLY doesn’t smell like gym socks.
drizad, do post some photos on other wierd fruits not found in peninsular. will try it next year when i am in sabah again…
@KakiAyam:
Sure… Will try to hunt more weird stuff for you on this land!
drizad.. maybe you can put some info on ‘Tarap’ and ‘Bambangan’…
A Filipina from Mindinao told me that they too grew up with red durian, and like many fruits there, (jackfruit, for example)they picked it before it was ripe and stewed it as a vegetable.
Ironically, my Filipina wife can’t stand the stuff but I, an American, love it to the point of addiction. Would love to find a red one,though.
@isa:
I did. Here is the post:
http://mount-kinabalu-borneo.com/blog/5-things-you-should-taste-before-you-leave-kinabalu.html
Hie Drizad,
That’s a wonderful delicious looking durian there. And I have not tasted it so far and so vibrant red too.
It must be better than the normal yellow pulp ones.
How’s the taste and price like? Is it available in the peninsular?
Simply amazed,
Sue
p.s. Could I link this site to my social website. A friend curious to know
@ Sue:
Taste & price? I am not really sure, as I have never had one. So far, I have never seen it in Peninsular Malaysia.
p.s. Sure do. Spread the love around…
That’s great, thank you , will have the love out spread
I came across this article about Red Durians and guess what!!!!!, we do have in the Peninsular…lol. It’s in Jitra, Kedah , the article was in 2005, hopefully it’s still blooming !!!!
Check it out –
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/5/18/nation/10980825&sec=nation
Have a good Sunday & Happy Father’s day!
@ Sue:
Thank you! Have a nice day to you too!
The red durian locally dahit, has many variation of color, and taste. In my dusun, I have three fruit bearing dahit trees, with three different hues – from crimson red to dark orange, fro msweet taste to bitter sweet taste.
No the taste is unlike the normal durian, i nwhich one could get a feeling of being stuffed when having one tooo many. Dahit – no you just get a nice filled stomach feel. No heady sensation too.
Theres some good mention about the color compound in fruits, such as the reds in carrot, and by my own extension the red durian. Apparently they are good helath formative compound, very much why doctors almost always recommend fruits for health [ ok for its fibre, too].
I’m French, having home in thailand…
It would be interesting to have this fruit in my garden… who can send me some seeds ?
Regards
Philippe
i juz ate it this morning…i realy crazy bout wild durians..many types of colours..i bought it at miri market..actually it also can be found in sarawak…indonesia too..only in Borneo..coz my great grandparent planted it long time ago…hehehe
can you send me some seeds for my garden in thailand ??
@ Pilou:
I can, but I don’t know whether I could find the seeds. I am actually still looking for it here in KK. Maybe need to find it from the southern part of Sabah. I will contact you if I found one.
Cheers!
Aha..durian merah. Good info on this one. I’ve been wondering if other people know about this ‘durian merah’ .
This is one of my favourite fruits. It doesn’t taste like the normal durians or smell like the normal durians that can cause people to secrete saliva in anticipation of the ‘durians’. I think that it’s the smell that triggers such effect.:-) haha
It taste better if made into ‘tempoyak’.In my ‘kampong’ , red durian is fried with onions and chilli and served as a side dish. Sometimes when the ‘durian merah’ was served, I am contented to have just the rice and the durian merah as my main dish. (Just mixed it with your rice and you will have a nice, unique meal).
This is such an interesting species! Red durian is “durio graveolens.”
Let me know if I might be able to buy seeds from you! I’ve been looking for these to try growing here.
Excellent pic!
maaf yaa.. teman teman di malaysia…., durian merah nya nggak cuma ada di kinabalu ajaah lho…., tapi di indonesia juga…. di provinsi kalimantan selatan buah durian merah banyak tuh di hutan…masyarakat sini menyebut tu buah lahong ……..
, sayang saya nggak punya foto na heheheh. TQ yaaa
Cikgu Ismail, saya rasa nak komen pasal durian merah.
Saya rasakan durian merah itu boleh dimakan. Kalaulah mulut
saya &cikgu berbau, tolonglah ajak saya pergi ke gunung Kinabalu dengan segera supaya saya menikmati gunung Kinabalu dengan nyaman.
Yang Ikhlas,
Muhd Al-hakim Bin sayed Nasir,
Pelajar SMK Kelapa Sawit
Hi, Im a rare fruit collector from Mexico looking to buy or trade for another seeds, 6-10 seeds of red durian,trough regular mail,
Thanks, Raul
Durian is simply tasty exotic fruit,one of the best in world,I come from East Africa,Tanzania(presently living in Canada)back there on the Island of Zanzibar grow durian,the only country in Africa, I guess,have been eating since was kid and doing so till now(tho I get durian from Thai and malay here in Canada
thanks
durian merah aneh benar, sebab saya penggemar durian di Indonesia durian bermacam-macam tetapi yang merah benar belum aku temuai tetapi saya penggemar durian suatu hari apabila saya datang ke sabah-Malaysia saya ingin sekali mencicipi durian yang fantastic ini, tetapi di Indonesia ada durian kesukaanku durian ini namanya durian hijau dari Jepara tetapi walaupun kulit dan buahnya mengandung warna hijau tetapi sangat enak sekali.
well, the red colored durian is indeed quite well known in sabah, and the local term for it is ‘dahit’. It’s different from the normal durian whereby the thorns are longer and sharper. The taste and smell are not as strong as the normal durian hence for those who are used to eating normal durian might find ‘dahit’ bland.
I taste it before but it’s different color.. yellow and a bit orange.. it’s really bland and i dont like it.. never seen red colored.. My uncle say Santubong Sarawak also have red flesh durian.. i prefer durian..
Selamat Hsian, I am visiting Sandakan now and I am told in KK that now it is not musin for red durian. Ahioi! Any idea if itis true or not? Where to find red durias now here or around? I will be here 3 more days only, can you please direct me? Thank you, Giovanni
i dont like it when they say it smells like “pig-shit”.
It taste GOOD!!
i dont like it when they say it smells like “pig-shit”.
Durians taste GOOD!!
I’ve been to Sabah a few times now and I’ve never seen the red variety. Interesting. It might be because I can’t stand the smell of durin. I would not go so far as to say it smells of pig shit though.
Durian smell and taste like french Camembert Cheese
Hi Chin or Drizad, I am interested to have some seeding and plant at my orchard.
Where and when is the best month to come to Sabah to taste the fruit. Please drop
me an e-mail at tarmizitw@hotmail.com
Hi All, for everyone’s knowledge the red flesh durians can also be found in one of the islands of Philippines which is called ‘Davao’.
wow! red durian! i wonder how it tasted like…
Hi Drizad. Your blog and articles are very interesting. May I have your permission to add your photo and link it to Durianon site? Thank you. Lim from Durianon
hi permission to use the photo of this red durian.
would love to put ur link in my social website..:) TQ
Unfortunately, one of my earlier posts on this page has led to more spam over the last few years than you could ever imagine. Please realize that this is a “spam aggregator” and do not use your real address. Thanks, and good luck.
Does it taste the same?
Something like yellow and red watermelons? Only color difference? and maybe slightly sweeter or something?
Wow, real RED durians ? Love to taste it. Love love it. I was born in Borneo, Indonesia. My grandmother has durian farm so I naturally love durians with whatever smell it brings lol.
Would visit your part of the world of RED durian tasting. Is that genetically modified though ? I am health conscious so that’s why I am picky what I eat. I am also a vegetarian so eating lots of fruits are my eating habits. Durians have medicinal properties apparently, I have written some about it, it is a great body/brain relaxer !!! http://www.earthsmate.com
If anybody has tasted RED durian, please let me know on my website, share your photos if you can too. I love the sign about no durians lol, so funny.
We Have it in Sri Lanka too… But I like the yellow one most
hello,
I’m interested in this and likes durian. I wish to know where & how I get the seeds or baby plant of red and yellow durian., I’m from puchong Kualalampur…..hope anyone message me in this regard…
rajeshchannar@gmail.com
I have the seed of this durian with me now. Anyone who is interested can contact me. yinchuun@yahoo.com. (+60162808170)
I have several fruit-bearing durian in my farm in Southern Philippines. They are of the usual yellow or pale yellow flesh varieties. The red durian (dahit in Sabah) is something else. Mohamed says this exists also in Davao, in central Mindanao. Wish I could see and taste one.
I love Durian! The smell the taste is divine. (only 2 members in my family love it, my mom and me.)
I LOOOOOVE DURIAN!!!! People here in Switzerland say it stinks (I once smuggled one from Singapore to Zurich..
). I packed it reeeal well but when we landed it started to smell and everybody was wondering what this was and relieved to get out of the plane.. Me too but because I couldn’t wait to eat it… 
) Funny thing is that I also love Cempadak or Jackfruit but I’m allergic to it.. My son loves both too..
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