If there is one smell you can identify from a mile away, it is none other than the scent of durians. Its odour is so distinct that the fruit has even been banned from trains in Singapore!
One of the biggest reasons why some people dislike durians is its distinct smell.
But have you ever wondered why durians had such a strong and unique smell?
If there is one smell you can identify from a mile away, it is none other than the scent of durians. Its odour is so distinct that the fruit has even been banned from trains in Singapore!
One of the biggest reasons why some people dislike durians is its distinct smell.
But have you ever wondered why durians had such a strong and unique smell?
How Have People Described the Smell of Durians?
It smells like heaven to some, but the king of fruit’s one-of-a-kind odour is a stench to others.
Durian lovers alike will have never-ending praise for the king of fruits. But let’s take a look at how others have described it!
“Smells like Trash”
In 2017, video channel Cut had 100 people try durian for the first time. Appearance aside, all participants were intrigued by the odd smell of the fruit and all had very vivid descriptions of it.
A young man remarked that durian “(smelled) like trash” while others commented that it smelled like other fruits like pineapples or mangoes. Only one person in the entire video had a positive reaction to the smell at the 0:40 mark.
The “Smelliest Fruit” Known to Man
That same year, Insider also had some guests try durian. Needless to say, all of them were astounded by the appearance, taste, texture and odour of the fruit.
A lady stated that it smelled like “rotten fruit” while another gentleman observed that its smell resembled cough medicine!
Smells Just Like “Gasoline”
Buzzfeed had various individuals experience durian for the first time in their lives. One participant commented that it smelled like Autopia – a race car track attraction in Disneyland – while others simply did not fancy it at all.
Here’s why Durians Smell
“What do durians smell like?”
Most of us will probably have a hard time thinking about any other food with a similar aroma. Even durian lovers struggle to come up with an answer. But there is one statement that both durian enthusiasts and critics can agree on: durians do smell.
So, what explains its strong scent?
Believe it or not, there have been studies done on the King of Fruit.
In 2012, scholar Jia-Xiao Li published a study about Thai durian odour in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry (2012). The 8-page study highlighted a combination of 50 discrete compounds was responsible for the unique odour – in which, 4 of them were unknown compounds.
None of the individual compounds found, however, seemed to be attributed to the distinct smell of durians. But rather, the study deduced that the odd but powerful smell is a product of the mixture of 50 chemicals.
Li also published another article under the American Chemical Society on Science X™’s Phys.org in 2016 which discovered that they could recreate the iconic durian smell with the combination of 2 compounds, ruity ethyl (2S)-2-methylbutanoate and oniony 1-(ethylsulfanyl)ethanethiol. The full 8-page report can also be found on the 2016 edition of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.
With these in mind, we can conclude that durian’s odd and strong smell is associated with a mixture of compounds.
Either You Love It Or You Hate It
Durians might have a bad reputation for its smell, but there are still tons of durian lovers worldwide. Durian fans go through great lengths to get the freshest and tastiest durians during durian season.
Then again, however, durian does have an acquired taste. If you have been on the fence about trying durians because of their funky smell, now you know the scientific reasoning behind it!
Give it a try; you’ll never know till you taste it yourself.