Durian has a sweet phase and a bitter phase, and most eaters move through them in order. You start on the honeyed clones, and if the fruit really sinks
Some durians earn their following on flavor, and a rare few earn it on the way they look the moment you crack them open. D18 is one of the second kind.
I cannot fruit a durian on my farm in coastal San Diego County, and I have made my peace with that. What I can do, after years of buying, opening and selling
People who chase durian by name tend to memorize the famous clones first, the Musang King and the Monthong, then skip straight past the quiet ones.
Ask ten durian sellers to explain the difference between Black Pearl and Black Gold, and you may get eleven answers. Both are rare, dark-fleshed, premium
Every exotic grower in Southern California eventually gets asked about durian, usually by someone who tried it once on a trip to Bangkok and either loved
You cannot pack durian so it smells like nothing. Anyone who promises that has never opened a bag that leaked in a hot car. What you can do is contain
The thorns give D14 away before the flesh does. They are big and hooked, and I have the scars to prove this durian does not want to be opened casually.
Freeze-dried durian is the version of the king that fits in a backpack. It weighs almost nothing and keeps for months on a shelf instead of hours in a fridge.
Walk through any night market in Penang or Bangkok between June and August, and one stall pulls the longest line. You smell it before you see it, a sweet