Durian

This very unusual fruit, native to Southeast Asia, provides a good opportunity to heed the old saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Durians, an expensive delicacy in many parts of the Pacific Rim, are most certainly an acquired taste. The fruit has thickly spiked green to brown skin, can weigh up to 10 pounds (4 kg 550 g), and is slightly larger than a football. The flesh inside is pale yellow, aromatic, and sugary sweet, with a creamy texture and numerous seeds. What makes it so unusual is its pungent, very foul aroma. The durian’s odor is so bad, in fact, that in some parts of Asia, it is actually outlawed on public transportation!