Particle Data Platform
Gastropod

Durian Delight and Feijoa Fun: Adventures in Banned, Forgotten, and Unusual Fruit

9/23/202551 min

This week on Gastropod, a feast of fruits! Specifically, feijoa and durian—and, if you haven’t heard of either, you’re not alone. Unlike the ubiquitous strawberry or banana, durian and feijoa are only popular in a handful of countries and almost unknown in the US, and we wanted to know why—especially because the people who love them really love them. For New Zealanders, like journalist Kate Evans, feijoa is *the* taste of home, even though it's almost forgotten in its original homeland, in Brazil and Uruguay. Meanwhile, the smell of the durian is so intense and distinctiv...

Clips

A Smell-Free Durian? Please Don’t
Gene Behind Durian’s Pungency
Feijoa As Home And Identity
Five-Year-Old Solves Pollination Mystery
Why Scarcity Makes Feijoas Special
“Feijoas Don’t Exist,” Says FDA
Durian Lover In A Durian-Hating Home

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 00:02

    We are passionate about exotic fruits and guarantee a worry-free shopping experience. Leave your name and phone number, and our customer service team will reach out to you within 24 hours. Your satisfaction is our priority.

  2. Nicola Twilley· Host0:16

    [beep] This is me hitting another dead end on the trail of a fruit that can be kinda hard to get hold of here in the US.

  3. Cynthia Graber· Host0:24

    I also had a hard time finding a fresh one. The first two places I called only had frozen. The third place I called, their website had almost no English on it, and the person who answered the phone struggled to understand me. Hi, do you carry fresh durian? Yes. D-U-R-I- I-A-N. Yes, durian.

  4. Binh Tien Teh· Guest0:44

    Yes, we have the durian.

  5. Nicola Twilley· Host0:46

    A few phone calls later, I ended up tracking down the goods to my durian dealer texted me pictures of a couple of options to choose between. Check out this durian, $110.70 [laughs] I guess it is, uh... Well, I can't actually read how heavy it is in Chinese.

  6. Cynthia Graber· Host1:06

    We were undaunted. We were determined to get a hold of a fresh durian. We, of course, are Gastropod, the podcast that looks at food through the lens of science and history. I'm Cynthia Graber.

  7. Nicola Twilley· Host1:15

    And I'm Nicola Twilley, and this is an episode about, how shall I put this, fruit that is not normal, at least here in the US. These are fruits that are deeply beloved in some places and totally unknown or

We value your privacy

We use cookies to understand how you use our platform and to improve your experience. Click "Accept All" to consent, or "Decline non-essential" to opt out of non-essential cookies. Read our Privacy Policy.