MALAYSIAN entrepreneur has found a smooth solution to a thorny problem. Exporting durians by air had all along been a no-no due to the powerful smell given off by the fruit. Shipping them by sea took days.
Hawker Zheng Yousong shows the normal and smoothened durians. He uses a normal knife to cut off the thorns.
But this unnamed businessman has found a simple way to put durians on the plane to overseas markets. He selects premium durian varieties and then asks the durian hawkers to remove their spikes with a knife.
The 'smoothened' durians are then vacuum-packed and exported to Australia by air, reported Guang Ming Daily.
Without its thorny crown, the king of fruits looks more like a jackfruit, or some species of melon.
But more importantly, there are no prickly protrusions to damage the packaging and let that signature smell escape.
Pictures: GUANG MING DAILY
Another happy side effect is that the durians lose about 300g in the process, which comes up to 15 to 20per cent of their weight, depending on the size of the fruit.
According to Guang Ming Daily, Malaysian durians are becoming increasingly popular in Australia.
Hawker Zheng Yousong said he has been supplying the 'thornless durians' for about two weeks. He and his five workers prepare about 300 of them daily.
The hawker said that he has to explain why he is doing this to passers-by daily.
He said: 'When someone tries to buy the durians, I have to tell them I can't sell them as they've been specially-ordered.'
He added: 'Anyway, most Malaysians can't accept these 'bald durians'. To them, only spiky durians are real durians.'
taken:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/st...40409,00.html?
