Strong Durians!

Dear friends,

Kirsty is our hostess at Our Beautiful World this week and her word prompt for us is;

'STRONG'

I cannot help myself but to write about Durian, or infamously known here as the King of Fruits!. What is it gotta do with this week's theme?. 

Well, this thorny tropical fruit is the whiffiest of them all!. You either love it or hate it :). The aroma is so strong that quite often you see 'No Durian' signs in hotels, airports and on public transports!. [I wish I could add a whiff-me button in the post somewhere, so you could sample some :)]. 

The fruits can be found anywhere in South East Asia countries, either grew commercially in orchards or in someone's backyard. Or better still, buy them at local farmers market by the kilos!. It's a common sight to see people enjoy these fruits right there on the streets and not carrying them home in their cars. Smart.

Nevertheless, it brings comfort to a lot of people. Such as my family, minus me :). My uncle used to have a durian orchard in the hill up north. When we were kids, my mom would packed us up and spent the week at my uncle's and you've guessed it ... feast on durians!. Then I got really sick after all the heat from eating them and that possibly made me hated it, ever since. 

One doesn't pick a ripe durian from the trees. We have to wait for them to fully ripen on the trees and fall on the ground when it's time. Nifty?. FUN!!. My cousins and I would listened to the loud boom of the fallen fruit and make a dash to pick it up. Back then, I thought of wearing a helmet when looking for durian in the bush, much to my cousins' amuse. Well, you never know. 

Nowadays, one can enjoy the spiky fruit in little doses too. Like in ice-creams, jellies, cakes, fritters, pancakes, custards, chips, puddings, spicy sambals, you name it. Such as this crepe recipe. For the faint-hearted, this is your chance at trying :).

That's all friends, durian in a nutshell. Thank you Kirsty, for bringing up such sweet childhood memories. 

If you too have a story about 'Strong', why don't share them with us at Our Beautiful World this week?. Until next, have a great one!. HUGS.