2008 Spring—Oral Training for Sophomores
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A Thai Scientist Neutralizes The Smelliest Fruit in Asia
by THOMAS FULLER


黃毓培報告

Fans of the durian say its strong odor is the key to its taste. But an odorless variety may make it palatable to others.

You can take the sugar out soft drinks and the fat from junk food. But eliminate the pungent odor from what may be the world』s smelliest fruit and brace for a major international controversy.

The durian, a spiky fruit native to Southeast Asia, has been variously described by its detractors as smelling like garbage, moldy cheese or rotting fish. It is banned from many hotels, airlines and the Singapore subway. But durian lovers---and there are many, at least in Asia---are convinced that like fine French cheeses, the worse the smell, the better the taste.

Under the durian』s hardy shell are sections of pale yellow flesh with a consistency that can be as soft oozy as custard and a flavor that is nutty and sweet with hints of vanilla and an occasional bitter bite.

「To anyone who doesn』t like durian it smells like a bunch of dead cat,」 said Bob Halliday, a food writer based in Bangkok. But as you get to appreciate durian, the smell is not offensive at all. It』s attractive. It makes you drool like a mastiff.

Songpol Somsri, a Thai government scientist who after three decades of research is one of the world』s leading durian experts, now says he has managed to excise its stink.

Working at an orchard in Tung Phaen near the Cambodian border, Dr. Songpol crossed more than 90variety if durian, many found only in the wild, and came up with a frit that he says smells as mild as a banana. He named it Chantaburi No.1, after his home province and the location of the research center.

It will please Thai consumers, he says, and might help broaden the acceptability of the durian, unlocking the door to new American and European customers who, like an increasing number of Thais, are likely to reject a fruit that reeks like unwashed gym socks.

「Most Thais don』t like too strong a smell, except some old people,」 Dr. Songpol said.

Durian lovers are at once disbelieving of and horrified by the prospect of a no-smell durian. They complain that the fruit is being homogenized like the insipid tomatoes bred to look pretty behind plastic wrap.

「I don』t think it』s possible to make a durian that doesn』t smell.」 Said Somchai Tadchang, the owner of a durian orchard on Kret, an island on Chao Phraya river north of Bankok, where special long stem durians sell for more than $ 40 each, the equivalent of several days』 wages for a laborer here. 「Anyway, durians actually smell good,」 he said.」 Only rotten durians stink.」

Dr. Songpol, 52, says his work is far from done. His is mapping out durian DNA, and hoping to pinpoint the malodorous gene one day. And meanwhile, he is trying to breed durian ---which gets its name form 「duri,」 the Malay word for thorn---without spikes.