"John McMillan" wrote in message
...

snip
Slightly OT, but on the subject of putrid plant odours I simply have
to
mention the durian. snip the
best ones
I had I ate under the tree as a guest of the tree's owner. In
hindsight,
this may not have been the safest place to be sitting. I think I was
a bit
of a curiosity as a European who actually liked them.


You know, Duncan, I am really SO grateful you did that for me and
saved me
from having to find out for myself! ;-)

Don't pass up the chance to eat them, they really are good and for
some reason you don't smell it as you eat.. Even though airlines and
hotels in durian-areas tend to have off-putting signs like "No durians
allowed in rooms/baggage".

I've read this advice on durians before. You can find them for sale
in chinese and indonesian supermarkets in London, Manchester, Amsterdam
and I expect other places. Now, how do I choose a good one, or a
suitably
ripe one, or is there any other information that I should know before
buying one?

excerpt from one of many durian websites:- Well worth a try and should
answer all the questions you have.


"Heck, a few countries even BAN the presence of durian in selected public
spots due to its offensive smell (that, to me, is a hopeless rule just like
outlawing fart, when we know that it is such a pleasure and EVERYBODY
secretly doing it!). "

http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~durian/