Durian

In my career, I worked with many interesting and diverse people. I really don’t know whether I gravitated toward jobs with companies that valued interpersonal relationships or whether every professional employer ends up this way. Regardless, I felt blessed by my interactions with those co-workers.

One of my past co-workers had family in Hong Kong. He also knew I enjoyed new and different food experiences. (Given the choice between going to a chain restaurant or a mom & pop restaurant, I’ll pick the latter every time). Anyway, one year, he took a trip to Asia and came home with a gift for me–a durian fruit.

I don’t want to misrepresent the fruit, so I enclosed the definition below:

Durian is a large, spiky tropical fruit from Southeast Asia, known as the "king of fruits" for its unique, pungent odor and rich, creamy, custard-like flesh, which has a complex sweet and savory flavor. Its strong smell, often compared to rotten onions or gym socks, leads to it being banned in some public places, but its nutritious, buttery pulp is highly prized in desserts and savory dishes, with varieties ranging in color from pale yellow to red.

It was a February day when he brought it to me in a paper bag. He had a smirk on his face when he gave it to me and asked if I would let him know if I liked it. We had finished dinner that night and I decided to crack it open to try it. I cut it open and the smell was strong. I cut up a few pieces and I tried it. I believe the smell overpowered the taste. In fact, the smell got stronger and stronger as the minutes slipped away. However, I do remember a creamy texture.

The smell was so overpowering I decided to get rid of the rest of it. I took it outside and threw it in the backyard. (I didn’t want to put it in the trash because that was near our garage.) Soon, we were opening windows in the house (remember this was a cold February day) and turning on fans to try to rid the putrid smell. It must have taken several hours for the smell to clear enough to ignore (our large outdoor dog loved it and kept the rind for many months as a personal treasure).

You might think you can’t stand the smell of, say, liver and onions or a skunk but, in my opinion, a durian is stronger and more persistent. Maybe, maybe, if it was incorporated, as the internet suggests, into a desert, it is good, but I can’t see how the preparer gets past the smell to cut it up for use.

Ironically, this friend of mine and I still share comments, occasionally, about durians. Recently, I came across a video of a large Asian market that had acquired durians to sell, and the video maker cut one open and drove a significant customer segment out for a period of time.

“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” - Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭7‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” - 1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭5‬‬‬‬‬‬‬