To the people that need to smell their food before they eat it... this food is not for you!!!
This week's bizarre food is none other then the strong smelling Durian! With its potent smell of what some refer to as rotting fish or garbage. I find it bizarre for a fruit to smell so bad, maybe a vegetable but not a fruit, because when one thinks of fruit we think of sweet or sour but like anything, life makes exceptions and the durian fruit is certainly that the exception of fruits smelling only sweet or sour.
If your able to not get KOed by the strong potent smell of the Durian. The taste of the fruit is supposed to be a creamy sweetness that just melts in your mouth... my thoughts on this are, if its smelling that bad it best taste really good. I'm sure many others are thinking...no if it smells bad its gonna taste bad...duhh! But in the Durian's defense people from other regions of the world eat some of the stinkiest cheeses and say its delicious.
Durian is mostly grown in South East Asia like the forests of Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. The Durian tree itself is something special because it will only start to bloom when the tree has finally hit the age of 15 years old...so if your thinking about growing one of these tree's its gonna be a while before you get any stinky fruit. Which makes me ponder if i go into the forest where there is a forest of Durian trees is that part of the forest going to smell just rotten and dying?
(The Durians on the tree look like lanterns...well to me at least)
Here are some health facts about Durian :D
...oh stinky fruit you are good for us none the less :P
-
Durian is rich in dietary
fiber, which makes it a good bulk laxative. The fiber content helps to
protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time and as
well as binding to cancer causing chemicals in the colon.
-
Durian fruit is
a good source
of antioxidant vitamin-C
(about 33% of RDA).
Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps
body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful
free radicals.
-
The fruit is an excellent
source of many
health benefiting B-complex groups of vitamins; a rare feature among
fruits, such as
niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine
(vitamin
B-6) and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential in the
sense that body requires them from external sources to replenish.
-
It also contain good
amount of
minerals like manganese, copper, iron and magnesium. Manganese is used
by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme superoxide
dismutase. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells.
Iron is required for red blood cell formation.
-
Fresh durian fruit is a
very
rich source of potassium. Potassium in an important electrolyte of cell
and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure.
-
It also contains high levels of essential amino acid, tryptophan (also known as "nature's sleeping pill") which in the body metabolizes into serotonin and melatonin; these neuro-chemicals have an important functions like sleep induction and in the treatment of epilepsy.The last fact about Durian I found to be really interesting that the fruit contains high levels of tryptophan. I guess i find it interesting because many of my friends are having a hard time sleeping and the fact that how could something so rotten smelling but you to sleep...maybe KO you but not put you to sleep.Here is a little video about Durian fruit:(This video is actually very educational and you can learn a lot about this fruit in the short video.)
