Taste Test: Durian Ice Cream

A short post on some pungent smelling ice cream.

Durian is a polarizing fruit. Based on what I’ve read, there are people out there who consider it the supreme fruit on all of planet Earth. Others think it smells like rotting garbage.

I tried durian once, but I didn’t like it. The funky scent, which reminds me of jackfruit, was too pungent for me to enjoy. I wouldn’t have thought you’d see it used in ice cream, but our kids saw this pint of Maven’s Durian at Berkeley Bowl and thought we should try it. It’s worth noting they sell this stuff at Costco (at least out here), which, as you know, for me, is a definite seal of approval.

A lot of it, as you can see, went uneaten.

First off, only my kids and I decided to sample any; my wife politely declined. The taste test didn’t start well as both kids smelled the pint after we opened it and did not like what they encountered. After we scooped up, each kid tried a bite and then quickly said, “No thank you”.

As for me, I wouldn’t say I liked it. But I wouldn’t say I disliked it either. Yes, the stinky scent is off-putting: there’s no denying that. Yet it also has an odd appeal, perhaps like stinky cheese?

The taste is similarly powerful and sharp, yet again, there is something about it that I could see folks finding enjoyable, so I ate about half of my scoop. I also had to keep taking bites because the taste reminded me of something savory I had eaten recently. When I finally figured out what it was, I nearly laughed: it kind of tasted similar to Beyond Meat’s Beyond Beef, which we used for taco night in our house recently. Maybe the chemical makeup of pea protein is similar to durian?

Anyway, hit up Costco if you’re interested in trying some for yourself.

See you later in the week with a post on Pistachio Gelato!