Customer returns 'bruised' durians to Malaysia fruit stall, but netizens say it's a tasty variety

Are these bruised durians past their prime, or a hidden gem?

A Facebook post on Saturday (June 29) by user Voon Z'y showing grey bruises on the flesh of a kampung durian has sparked discussions on whether the fruit is safe for consumption.

The fruit seller, who hails from Ipoh, Malaysia, wrote that a customer had returned the durian as they believed it was spoiled. She later brought the said durian home to eat.

Her post has since gone viral, garnering nearly 10 thousand likes and over three thousand comments in two days.

While some questioned if they would get diarrhoea or food poisoning after eating bruised durians, several netizens commented that these durians are "tasty" and of "good quality".

"Boss, tell me if you open these kinds of bruised durians in the future, I'll immediately fly there to purchase them," said one Facebook user.

Another added: "This type [of durians] are delicious; the flesh is very bitter."

"Did this durian get beaten up? Why are there so many bruises?" joked one netizen.

In a follow-up post on Monday, Voon shared another picture of a bruised kampung durian and clarified that the photos have not been edited.

"I've opened many grey kampung durians, and always end up taking them home to eat myself," she said.

She also shared a post which she'd made last June stating that such bruised durians have a very bitter and strong taste, with the heady aroma of alcohol.

When contacted by AsiaOne, Stella Soh, the co-director of Lexus Durian King, agreed with the typical flavour profile of such durians but declined to say if they taste better than regular durians.

"Taste is subjective, but this [type] will taste a bit more bitter."

She told AsiaOne that these durians likely got bruised when falling off a tall tree during harvest, and are not spoiled.

"This situation normally happens with the whiteish type of durians [where] the bruise tends to be more obvious compared to the type with yellow flesh," she explained.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com