A Thai scientist has developed a stink-free version of durian, a delicious fruit that looks like a T Rex's scrotum and smells like the ass of a huge, long-dead prehistoric cave-bear. No one can say yet whether the denatured fruit tastes as good as the original, though many fear that it will be like one of those red-red-red tomatoes that never goes rotten but taste like cardboard.
Dr. Songpol experimented with hundreds of combinations before discovering Chantaburi No. 1. This year's harvest is not yet ripe but those who have smelled and tasted last year's say the fruit has a very faint odor. Saowanee Srisuma, the caretaker of the durian orchard, says it is the most innocuous smelling durian she has encountered in 10 years of working there. Suchart Vichitrananda, the director of the Horticultural Research Center, says Chantaburi No. 1 does not smell but he hesitates when describing the taste. "I can't say it's better than the original durian, but it'll do," he said.
Many durian lovers fear the nearly odorless variety is just another step toward the erosion of durian culture. Durians are a social fruit, traditionally sold and eaten on the roadside by groups of friends.
(via Digg)
(Image thumbnail taken from a larger CC-licensed pic by bingregory on Flickr)
