During the hot months of April and May, the price of Durians drop dramatically as there is a huge surge in supply. Suddenly, you will see durian stall spring up all over Udonthani, and every stall owner will tell you that their's is the best. However, that is not true, and in Udonthani, once they slice open the durian, it is yours. Even if it not ripe or too hard, you have to pay for the experience of watching them slice up the durian like it's a papaya, and expertly open it up like a huge thorny flower.
Fortunately, at the wholesale market, your durian is only 70baht per kg during this season, and it would set you back only by 150-180baht per durian.
Tip: Go to the wholesale fruit and vegetable market for your durian fix, 3 large durians weighing 7kg in total will set you back by about 500baht. Talad Mueng Thong is located next to Makro, a supermarket that sells items in bulk so you save quite a lot if you shop once a week or for a large family.
If you are buying durian during the tapering of the season, durian can cost 300baht for a small durian weighing slightly more than one kg!
Durian season is also the hottest time of the year, so be sure to drink plenty of water sprinkled with salt after eating durian.
Some Thais believe that the durian is packed with vitamins and minerals, and if you can go on a durian diet, you will lose weight. All Thais believe you can't have alcohol after eating durians, and most will have some stories to tell about a friend's friend dying after having durian and whisky.
So how does the most famous Thai Monthong Durian taste like if it is of the right quality and ripeness? It should be slight sweet, aromatic and slightly crunchy. The smell of Thai durians is usually not very strong, as they are eaten when just ripened, not overly so like how we like it in Singapore and in Malaysia. Thai durians are usually enormous compared to the Malaysian counterpart, and most Singaporeans and Malaysians don't like Thai Durian as we think it is very bland and hard.
Newsflash: Durian that is not ripe or "too young" is hard, crunchy and bland. Durian that is just ripe is slightly crunchy on the outside, soft in the inside and creamy with a bit of fibre. Usually sweet, sometimes it has a slight bittersweet flavor too. The Thais usually sell the overly ripened durian at a rock bottom price as they don't like their durians soft and squishy. I'm Singaporean, so I went round buying up the super cheap, super soft and tasty bittersweet creamy durian I love!
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