Stinky Trouble in Germany!

Just a little funny story from Bavaria for you-

Twelve German postal workers received medical treatment and dozens more were evacuated due to a pungent suspect package -- which turned out to be a shipment of the notoriously smelly durian fruit.
Police, firefighters and emergency services were called to a post office in the Bavarian town of Schweinfurt on Saturday after staff noticed the smell coming from a package.

edition.cnn.com...

Oh dear,the dreaded Durian has been causing problems again..
Some may say this was an over reaction by the german police/emergency services-But those people have likley not had the "pleasure"of smelling Durian.
When I first smelled it in Asia,it was coming from a street stall maybe 50 yards away and I thought it was the general mix of 3rd world city smells from a gas/petrol leak,a dumpster full of rotting fish and maybe a dead body or two.
It was only as I got closer to the food stall that I realized it was coming from the nasty Durian fruit-Its the kind of smell that makes you gag and have a headache.
It sure caused a problem in Germany,(from above link)-

"A total of twelve postal workers who complained of nausea had to be taken care of on site," police in Schweinfurt said, adding that six were taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Six ambulances, five first-responder cars and two emergency vehicles attended the incident. Three different fire departments were also involved.

All that for 4 Durian fruits!
Literally a bad ass fruit.

I actually tried it once-I got cajoled into it by the locals who said once you try it then the smell doesn't seem so bad,well that was not true.
It didn't taste too bad-kind of like a warm semi solidified custard texture with an eggy/vanilla like taste,but I hated the idea of my breath smelling of it so I proceeded to purchase and drink probably a bit too much of the local "whiskey"/paint stripper to hide the stench.
I don't know if it worked but I sure felt better.

Its a notorious fruit,banned in some public places and also responsible for many deaths-but surprisingly not from the smell,rather from the heavy spiky fruits falling from great height when ripe onto people below.

So watch out for the dreaded Durian folks,and don't send them in the post or you could spark a bio hazard alert like what happened in Germany!

a reply to: Silcone Synapse
...and this in a country that has spawned Harzer Kase

They're banned in loads of SE Asian hotels.

Link to signs.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Thanks for enlightening me. I would like to try it.
I like strong cheeses.
I wonder if I must go to Germany to get it?

originally posted by: butcherguy
a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Thanks for enlightening me. I would like to try it.
I like strong cheeses.
I wonder if I must go to Germany to get it?

Most Asians I know love the stuff even though it has gotten rather expensive around here. If you can get past the smell the taste is actually "Not to Bad".

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck
a reply to: Silcone Synapse
...and this in a country that has spawned Harzer Kase

Looks like a nice side dish to eat with durian.
Maybe some Surströmming for pudding

I accidently stumbled on some Surströmming vids on youtube a while back-the way people react when a can of that is opened is not fun to watch.It would probably make a good non lethal/riot control weapon for cops,maybe in a spray-you can't riot when you are puking!
Actually I think the Israelis use some kind of super stinky chemical agent to disperse rioters.

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

the problem hear [ and the reason for the over reaction ] is that the postal tem in a provincial german city - have no idea what " durian fruit " - is nor do first responders

the incident response doctrine - puts a restriction on hacking the " now " suspicious package open - to have a look

so untill the correct people arrive - open it and realise that they needs to get expert help from botanists

they are treating the first " casualties " as urgent

i has never encountered it - but it has come up in " grim foods " discussions - with associates who have - and all claimed it was worse than any of the european grim foods i had tried

a reply to: ignorant_ape
Its certainly the kind of smell that some people may wish to report to the authorites if they are not familiar with it-It can make you feel sick,so I understand they thought it may have been something toxic.
It probably does the job for the plant itself though-attracting the sort of animals that eat rotting material so that they eat it and spread the seeds,and maybe the gassy smell deters insects from attacking it or something.

a reply to: ignorant_ape

It's not bad. It's smelly but tastes nice.

I can think of the following which are much worse:

Surstromming
Hakarl
Riveta

originally posted by: butcherguy
a reply to: JohnnyCanuck
Thanks for enlightening me. I would like to try it.
I like strong cheeses.
I wonder if I must go to Germany to get it?

Phone around your local delis. Many won't carry it as it does smell foul, but tastes very good, though it does pick up a pronounced ammonia taste when it gets gooey and runny. Sounds attractive, don't it?

I have occasionally wondered if foot fetishists are also connoisseurs of strong cheeses.

originally posted by: and14263
a reply to: ignorant_ape

It's not bad. It's smelly but tastes nice.

I can think of the following which are much worse:

Surstromming
Hakarl
Riveta

Don't forget Casu marzu- Italian stinky sheep cheese which is being consumed and excreted by live insect larvae mmmMMMMmm!!
Who the heck comes up with this stuff?
I bet a lot of people have died over the years finding out what is and isn't edible.

Strangely I have never noticed the smell, must be when they get a bit old?
I have eaten durian a few times, not a big fan but it’s not disgusting by any stretch.
Not sure I like the texture, like the taste, it’s is pretty unique.

The durian are sold in local supermarkets in Australia

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

FML that is sick. I think I saw this on UK TV a few years ago.

I understand that the maggots are only eating and excreting the cheese BUT:

Maggots and larvae naturally smell of ammonia
Cheese naturally smells bad

This is not a good combination.


But it's a really interesting point, some smells in isolation make us wretch, yet in context are a delicasy.

Take some of the SPanish cured meats, a good lomo for example. If you close your eyes and smell it, it's really bad.... But open the eyes and it becomes enjoyable - like smelly cheese or perhaps that 'gamey' taste from game meat.

a reply to: Raggedyman
They might be a Chantaburi No. 1 durian - two types of durian crossed to achieve a low smell.

But even those smell.

Check the label and make sure they aren't fobbing you off with some crap.

a reply to: and14263

Its amazing how much our sense of smell is such a huge part of our sense of taste-Have you ever tried getting three or four different foods with the same texture,then eat them without looking but with your nose pinched shut?
It makes it almost impossible to distinguish between each food,and you can't really taste much at all.
I had to do it as part of a science experiment in college years back.
I guess its the same reason some mums pinch their kids nose shut when they give them bad tasting medicine.

a reply to: and14263

I don’t think they are robbing off crap
I know a durian when I see a durian, I know there taste, had them in Thailand and Australia
No doubt their are varieties but they all taste pretty similar I would expect.

Just the smell doesn’t seem to bother me or they havnt been as pungent for some reason

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

I don't have a sense of smell, so I don't know how bad Durian can possibly smell. Or even what that would be like lol
But in my country, we eat Durian a lot. It has a lots of nutrients and its fairly cheap. Tastes good to me lol