Durian fruit, if you've never been so lucky to experience it yourself, is the Asian fruit with the spiky husk that supposedly smells so bad it has been banned from a number of public places. Despite its wretched scent, though, some insist the fruit has a delightful and sweet muskiness.
According to Wikipedia (the source of all truths):
The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage.
I have been in the room while a durian fruit was being cut open. It was not pleasant; it stunk for days. To prove I am not exaggerating, watch Andrew Zimmern, a man who has gladly eaten dung beetle, chicken uterus, fermented sheep's head and an array of various animal penises,
attempt to swallow a piece of the fruit here.
It's that image of a gagging Zimmern that popped into my head when another 30 Days of Candy box arrived. The second installment featured candies with unique flavors from around the world — dill pickle, double salted licorice and cornstarch, to name a few — and among the otherwise intriguing yet innocent candy collection sat something much more mischievous. Yup, they sent me goddamn durian candy.
I haven't tried it; I am a wuss. But arts editor Laura Hutson bravely tore into one of the packets, popped the hard candy from Malaysia in her mouth and with a terrifying, delighted smile, she declared, "It tastes like lychee and B.O.!" A moment later she said it was also like garlic mixed with bubblegum. Guh-ross.
A few more highlights from the weird flavors box include the sweet, dill-flavored candy barrels (created by David Klein, who also created Jelly Bellys), delicious treacle toffees from British toffee company Walkers, the tart and strange chamoy hard candy from Jalisco, Mexcio (pictured left) and Satellite Wafers from Belgium, which are small, round, pastel-colored orbs that have little sugar sprinkles inside that shake like a rattle. I thought they would be dry and bland, but the crispy cornstarch shell melts on your tongue like rice candy paper, giving you quick access to the tiny candies inside. It's a really delightful experience.
I can't say the same for the durian candy, though. Just smelling it made my throat close up. Want 'em? I have four left. You can have them.
In other 30 Days of Candy news, I also recently received my third box, which included some of the world's oldest candy. There were a lot of familiar treats — Squirrel Nut Zippers, Necco Wafers, Abba Zabbas, Lemonheads, Good & Plenty and Mary Janes — but there were a few new-to-me confections, too, including Dumle Toffee (little chocolate-coated soft caramels that have a delicate nutty flavor) and Hopjes, Dutch coffee-flavored hard candies that feel creamy as they dissolve and have been around since 1792. Whoa!
