(Krystalle): Hi, I am Krystalle and I'm here with
my beloved, Arttemis
(Arttemis): Hello.
(Krystalle giggles)
And David, and Yemiah, and Thea
Yay! 
(Arttemis): Say Hi!
(Yemiah: Hi everybody!
and today is May 4th, 2010
and its my birthday! Yay!!!
(Arttemis): Yay, how old...how many years
young are you? 
(Krystalle): Enough! (everyone laughs)
I'm just the right amount
And for my birthday
we're having
Durian
(Arttemis): Oooh...
(Yemiah): Mmmm...
(Krystalle): Everybody except Thea, cause she
is not a fan, and thats okay.
(Arttemis): So, tell me about durian. 
(Krystalle): I'm doing a durian intro because I noticed
when I announced 
on facebook today that I am having durian
for my birthday
most of my family's said, "What?"
(giggle)
So durian is 
a big tropical fruit from Asia
and it looks...um
scary
and it is on the outside
and it comes, I usually find them
at Asian markets. And they come packaged
like this. 
I left it in the package so you can see it.
You can find a freezer section because 
they come frozen
that's how they get here from 
Thailand
(Arttemis): And they were big helmets under the trees
(Krystalle): Without big, stinky...
durian has a very particular aroma
(David): Like flowers.
(everyone chuckles)
(Krystalle): Like flowers.
(Arttemis): Some say it smell like dirty socks
(Krystalle): Some people say it smells like dirty socks
and some people say... i think it smells like
propane
yeah- the first durian i ever
smelled i walked in and that was my first question-
Oh my God where is the gas leak?
(Yemiah): Really? 
Yeah, its really...
(Arttemis): Its the sulfur.
It was a really strong durian though,
and it was indoors.
so one of my first rules of thumb about
durian is, 
I always open it outside.
(Arttemis): Yes that's helped
(Krystalle): much better
I think it...
Durian is a very particular
experience...and
some people love it when they first try it
and some people don't like it at all
I didn't like it at all
until about the 5th time I tried it
I wonder why I tried it that many times
(everyone laughs)
because I kept being at parties
and there were people...
(Yemiah): Mmm, it smells good
I smell it. 
(Krystalle): You do already?
(Yemiah): It smells like a good one.
(Arttemis): For most people, durian is 
definitely an acquired taste.
So its very pointy and sharp and durian grows
in the tropics. And durian trees are
mature trees are a 
hundred feet tall
and the durian
falls from the tree
can you imagine
being under
a tree when something like this 
falls out of a tree
(Arttemis): They wear big body armor
and these are really sharp
I actually poked myself once
(Arttemis): Yes.
In the legend and lore, the durian farmers
of ancient Thailand would sleep under their
trees at night
to keep thieves away from the prized fruit 
so it was so special.
(Krystalle): Yes
And theres a little passage
in the Whole Foods companion 
as ancient lore has it, there's a saying
that goes
When the durian
falls, the sarongs rise
So durian is known as 
(laughing)
it is "Naked Tuesday" after all
Durian is known as an aphrodisiac
(Arttemis): Yes. Its a very sensual looking
fruit, see!
(Krystalle): Heh, its not very sensual looking
not on the outside
So when we open it, its different.
So the key to choosing a good ripe durian
is um, 
ask God
because they all pretty much look the same
So um I asked God
to find me the durian and he said
"Find the ones with the smiles"
So you see right here
this durian has a smile (laughing)
(Arttemis): Yes, the sarongs will be flying off!
then what I do is I take them home
and about a day and a half before I'm ready to
eat durian I defrost it
So on a warm day like this its about
uh eight five to eighty eight degrees outside
I just put it outside
and today I put it out in the sun
and what usually happens when it starts to
ripen is it will naturally start to crack
See this crack
(Arttemis): Oooh..
So the easiest way to open something this 
prickly is to 
wait for it to naturally ripen
and defrost then all I'm
required to do is peel it apart
I just put my finger in this
little crack
and come all the way up the seam
(Arttemis): Ooh, that's so easy.
(Krystalle): Yes!
(Arttemis): Ooooooooh
What's inside is...
(Arttemis): Its fruit 
Is very sweet
(Arttemis): Ah, what is it?
(Both): Its durian!
it's a very sweet and yummy
sensuous and it does have a particular
aroma
but this one smells more fruity than normal
I think, smell...
(Arttemis): Have Thea smell it!
Here Thea come and smell it.
(Arttemis): It's not so bad
So this is called a pod. This is a durian
pod.
and each pod has a seed in it
(David): Mmm it is a good one.
(Arttemis): Oh, that's a good one.
So I open the pod and there's a seed 
and I just 
take the seed out
or if it's like this one I may have to clean
it off with my mouth
(David and Krystalle): Yes, yes
so my favorite weight to eat durian
is in its 
pristine form
without the fly
Just like this
(Arttemis): How is it Krystalle?
(Krystalle): Mmm...I like it!
And its a little stringy and it gets
stuck in my teeth sometimes
and this part
this is the best part
the soft gooey part
this is the part that is the sweetest
and tastes the most rich
So durian has a really high sulfur
content
making a really good for hair, skin, teeth
and nails
and um
it also for a fruit has a pretty high
fat content similar to avocado
so umm
its yummy, it feels good, it tastes good
it smells...okay
(laughing)
(Arttemis): You eventually get past the smell
trust me.
And so I'll open another pod 
so you can see
got one opened
and I find the next one
oh, durians flying
(Arttemis): Well we better clean that up or
tomorrow its gonna...yeah...she has skill 
Krystalle has durian skill.
(Krystalle): And so I just pull the pods out 
and everyone can eat their seeds
Some people like to do crazy things with durian
like put it in a Vitamix blender and add 
chocolate and make some kind of 
durian shake, smoothie, 
or pudding with it
and that's okay
at the beginning that was the only way Arttemis
would eat it
(Arttemis): Everything's better with chocolate
(Krystalle): My favorite is just durian plain
just by itself.
So thats how you do it. Usually there are 4 to 5
chambers inside of this durian
and
this is the final one
now if you happen to find a durian with five
pods you have hit the jackpot
that's happened
(Arttemis): Yes. Only once or twice
was a five pod durian.
(Krystalle): And then its empty and it looks like this.
(Arttemis): Oh pretty!
(Krystalle): Ta-daa! That's your durian experience
for May 4th 2010!
Yay!!
Thank you! Bye bye!
(Arttemis): Happy birthday!
