Duran Duren
02 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in Nostalgic Food Tags: Cerita Ngalor Ngidul, Durian, Random Thoughts....
Kemarin aku pergi ke Coles Super Market dan lihat duren yang bentuknya banyak yang bulet bulet dan mungil. Harganya juga rada miring…. dibawah 4 dollar perkilonya. Aku lihat duren tersebut adalah duren Monthong dari Thailand…. Wah boleh juga, jadi aku milih yang bentuknya paling bullet/simetris dan paling kecil…. cukup untuk dimakan 3 orang ini.
Nah, ngomong tentang duren aku jadi ingat dulu pernah ngobrol dengan teman tentang band Duran Duran…. Eh datang teman yang lain yang tak ngerti ujung pangkal pembicaraan tapi nyelonong bilang: ”Siapa yang beli duren? Bagi dong!” Ha…. Ngomongin Duran Duran jadi dikira beli duren. Ha…..
Yang lucu lagi adalah zaman dulu diawal tahun 1990-an, waktu duren belum banyak dikenal disini di Aussie. Waktu itu hanya toko toko Asia yang menjualnya. Aku beli satu biji duren dan oleh penjualnya yang orang Vietnam itu, durennya dibungkus rapi dengan kertas koran dan dimasukkan kekantong plastik. Setelah beli duren ini aku pergi ke Super Market (Australian shop), nah waktu check out, si kasir bilang: “Can I check what’s in the bag?”… tangannya menuding kantong keresek yang kujinjing. Jadilah ketaroh kantong plastic yang isinya durian itu diatas meja counter. Mestinya aku bilang supaya hati hati karena isinya berduri tapi waktu tak terpikir sama sekali (absent minded). Jadi saja si kasir yang gadis masih muda berambut pirang itu memasukkan tangannya yang berjari halus mulus dan membuka kertas koran pembungkus duren. Tiba tiba dia berteriak kesakitan…. jarinya tertusuk duri duren. Untung tidak berdarah dan dia lebih shock lagi waktu melihat apa yang terbungkus kertas koran tersebut. Dia bilang: “O my God, what the hell is this?….. It looks like a porcupine!” Ha…. baru aku sadar bahwa duren itu buah yang masih terlalu eksotik dan tak banyak orang bule tahu. Jadilah banyak orang sekeliling yang memandang kearah kami dan aku jelaskan apakah duren itu. Untungnya duren yang masih frozen/membeku itu tidak terlalu bau….. Wah kalau tidak kan malu waktu dibuka bau ‘mak sreng’….. Kan mereka orang kulit putih itu bilang duren baunya seperti **** Ha… anda tahu sendiri………..
Ingat peribahasa tentang durian yaitu ‘Bagaikan mendapat durian runtuh” yang artinya adalah mendapatkan rejeki atau keuntungan secara tiba tiba dan tak diharapkan. Tapi mikir mikir kalau runtuhnya diatas kepala, kan itu engga untung. Bayangkan ada duren jatuh diatas kepala, mana pohon duren itu kan banyak yang tinggi tinggi…… He…. bisa bisa dokter-nya yang untung karena mendapat pasien yang kepalanya berdarah dan gegar otakn ya. Ha…. Oh ya, dulu banyak yang cerita bahwa harimau itu rupanya suka makan durian. Jadi dulu waktu di pulau Jawa masih banyak harimau, banyak orang bilang hati hati kalau mendekati pohon durian dihutan karena bisa bisa kepergok ketemu harimau…..Bukannya jadi untung dapat durian runtuh, tapi bisa bisa malahan jadi mangsa harimau.
Eh… ini aku lagi iseng ngelamunin tentang durian. Duren yang kemarin kubeli itu masih segar sekali dan manis…… Kecil, tapi terdiri dari 6 bagian jadi kan isinya banyak sekali dan kulitnya tipis. Eh jadi besok kepingin beli lagi:)
Oh ya, aku sudah pernah blogging tentang durian, kalau penasaran silahkah buka:
http://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2008/11/08/smelly-king-of-fruit/
Smelly King Of Fruit
08 Nov 2008 4 Comments
in Nostalgic Food Tags: Durian, King of Fruit, Plant, Unusual Fruit, Writing
Smelly King Of Fruit
Will you eat fruit that taste like heaven, but smells so disgusting? For those that not familiar with this fruit, will think the smell is like over ripe cheese, unwashed stinky socks, or uncollected garbage on a hot day. The odour is overpowering it fills your house in a matter of second. So strong so it is required to be stored in a sealed container during the shipment overseas.
Durian The King Of Fruit (Durio zibethinus)
Widely known as the King of Fruit, Durian (Botanic Name: Durio zibethinus) is unique and exotic. The shape is round to oval; it can be symmetrical or unsymmetrical. It has greenish yellow to light brown in colour. The size is ranging from the size of a cantaloupe to bigger than adult human head. Durian is covered all over by sharp pointy spines, so it needs to be handled with care.
You have to open the fruit carefully along the segmented hard spiky skin (shell). If the fruit is properly ripe it is easier to split the segments. Once the shell is open, it reveals soft light yellow pulp that thickly covers a seed (pip) as big as the tip of our finger to a small egg. The smaller the seed, it is the better, because the pulp will be thicker. It is this aromatic sweet and creamy pulp that we eat. For those who love durian like I do, will describe the fruit as sweet, creamy custard like with a very distinctive and lingering aroma. It is a taste to die for.
The Tree: Durian trees can grow as high as 165 ft (50m), and they are commonly found in South East Asia. The tree will start to bear fruits in 4 years and it is said that if given the right condition, a durian tree will grow practically forever. Once the fruit is ripe, it can easily detach itself off the tree and fall hardly on the ground. So it is better not to sleep under the tree. The large fruit grow straight from the trunk in clusters.
Nutrition Values and Products: Durian fruit contains a high amount of sugar, Vitamin c, potassium, amino acid and is a good source of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. In South East Asia, like in Indonesia, Malaysia or Singapore, people cook durian pulp in coconut milk and palm sugar and serve it together with sticky rice. Also there are various lollies/candies, ice cream, biscuits, cakes and wafers with Durian flavour.
The biggest exporter of durians is Thailand. Although it is seasonal , this exotic king of fruit is available all year around (frozen) in most big cities all over the world, especially in Asian or Chinese food shops. To know if a durian is ripe is by the smell. However if you buy the imported ones usually it is quite good quality. Being kept frozen, it will reduce the aroma, but usually it will not change the taste and the sweetness.
The three of us in my family love durian (especially my son and I). People say either you like it or you hate it. But once you taste it and you like it, you’ll be hooked to the sensational taste the rest of your life. Some people also believe that eating durian will increase body temperature and it is also regarded as aphrodisiac. It is advisable for pregnant women and those suffer from high blood pressure to avoid eating this fruit.
