SINGAPORE:
A fruit so stinky it’s been banned in public buses and trains in Singapore has been turned into wine.
It’s a formidable feat pulled off by a team of student researchers at the the National University of Singapore who hope to commercialize their durian wine and see the product on store shelves.
Known as both the “King of Fruits” and the world’s stinkiest fruit, the durian is likewise perhaps the most polarizing food with people who either love it hate it.
Though food and travel host Anthony Bourdain is a fan for its rich buttery, creamy flavor and texture, he also describes it in less than flattering terms.
"Its taste can only be described as...indescribable, something you will either love or despise. ...Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother."
Need more? It’s also described by various chefs and writers as akin to eating custard in a sewer, turpentine and onions garnished with a gym sock, and rotten mushy onions.
If successful, the Singaporean doctorate students will be able to bottle it as a wine.
After testing out different fermentation methods, the end result is a wine of 6 percent alcohol which is devoid of the fruit’s pungent smell.
The same team also produced a wine made of papaya as a means to reduce wastage, given that the fruit is highly susceptible to spoilage due to rapid post-harvest deterioration, high heat and humidity and poor handling.
After five years of research, scientists have come up with several different papaya wines spanning 2 to 5 percent alcohol with different characteristics and aroma profiles.
Meanwhile, recently, McDonald’s in Singapore also came out with a buzz-generating durian-flavored McFlurry in time for durian season.
