It's that time of year again. My annual plug for durian, the oft-maligned, odoriferous fruit beloved in Southeast Asia and beyond. Usually, my advice to durian novices is to select a fruit with the least-pungent smelling odor you can find since different kinds of durian will range from mildly cheesy-smelling to gym-locker-stench-evoking. Durian smoothies are a treat on a hot summer's day. You might even get a few durian converts if you serve the fruit in smoothie form, which offers a milder kick of that distinctive cheesy taste. More

I decided to talk about durian for Seriously Asian rather than The Nasty Bits because durian already has such a terrible reputation as a repugnant food, and even discussing it in a column intended to loosen people's inhibitions about what is nasty seemed wrong. Besides which, I'd just finished talking about the gingko nut, another sort of flesh, pulpy thing that smells like dog excrement or Camembert, depending on who you ask. More