Sau Rieng: Durian

In Vietnamese, durian is called "sau rieng," which literally translates into: sorrow alone. Sadness. Sorrowful. Soulful. Individual. Solitary. Lonely. Perhaps eating it causes one to enter into a state of loneliness and sorrow b/c folks who have not grown up with the smell or taste will think it reeks so much that they'll just abandon you completely. Leave you to your solitary pleasure of eating one ripe, sweet, durian.

As kids, the joke is that if you misbehave, you'll be punished by kneeling on durian shells. As a weapon, it's pretty powerful. The odor alone might possibly take out an entire town. Leave a durian in a locked car for an afternoon and you'll know why. and How. Lobb the fruit at someone and you'll get 15 to 20 years minimum for manslaughter. It'll kill, certainement mes amis.

I love the smell of it, the taste of the sweet, creamy yellow flesh. I especially love the candies that people make out of it. The desserts are to die for. The ice cream -- pure heaven. Cold and sweet, sliding down your throat.

Much as I love the fruit, I know nothing about its origins. I only know that Thai thurians are smaller than Malaysian durians. The durians I've always eaten are large, and are most often Thai. I do know they grow in trees. What happens when they fall? Do people get hurt walking under durian trees? Do people WALK under durian trees?

How did they discover this delicious fruit? Why aren't they selling more of them? How come I can only find frozen durians? Why hasn't the rest of the world caught up with durian?