If you’ve been stocking up on all the durians you can get your hands on this durian season, we don’t blame you. Famous for having a notoriously polarizing scent, this spiky fruit is also especially sensitive to heat and moisture, which Singapore has plenty of.
Read on to learn how to store durians properly, remove and reduce durian smells in the fridge, fingers and cars!
How To Store Durians In Each Environment
1. At Room Temperature
Durians ripen and spoil more quickly in the heat and where there is moisture, it is not recommended to store them at room temperature.
Store them in the fridge or freezer instead. Read below for more storage tips to keep the ‘durian smell’ from engulfing your whole fridge!
Shelf-life
- Out of package: 2 hours
- In its shell: 1 month (in a cool, dry and dark place)
2. In The Fridge
Storage Method
- Remove the durian flesh (with seed intact) from the original styrofoam packaging, then place them in a dry airtight container or even a vacuum-sealed container like our Freshly™ Food Containers.
- Avoid stacking the fruit, have a small gap between each durian to lessen moisture within the container, and use multiple containers if you have to.
Shelf-life
- Durians last about 2-4 days in the fridge
Things To Note:
- To help you keep track of the expiry date, label the containers with the date of refrigeration. P.S Freshly™ comes with an integrated date dial that allows you to indicate storage month and day without the need to label.
3. In The Freezer
Storage Method
- Wrap each durian pod individually in either cling wrap or a food-grade plastic bag to prevent excess moisture or air from coming into contact with it.
- Then, place each wrapped durian in a dry airtight container, with a small gap between them.
- Avoid stacking them to prevent overcrowding.
Freezing durians instead of refrigerating them will help reduce the odour throughout your fridge. The additional layers of plastic wrap will further prevent the strong smell from contaminating the rest of the food in the fridge, such as meat and dairy products.
Shelf-life
Fresh for 2 months, although you can turn the leftover frozen durian into smoothies, ice cream or even pastries!
Things To Note
- Once the durian is thawed, do not refreeze them as this will change its texture.
How To Get Rid Of Durian Smell/ Odour
Despite its drool-worthy taste, the scent that comes from the fruit is quite the opposite. If you find the overpowering smell lingering for hours or even days in your fridge or your car, here’s how to remove it.
On Fingers & Breath
A cheap and easy way to remove the scent of durians from your hands is to use a durian seed. Rub the brown, smooth part of the seed against your hand under water, which has a compound to neutralise the smell.
Then, wash your hands as you normally would.
If the scent is lingering on your breath, use this age-old hack!
- Make some salt water by dissolving a sprinkle of salt in warm water in a durian shell.
- Gently scrape the sides of the inside of the shell with a fork and mix well with the water.
- Drink it.
This has the same compound as its seed, which acts as a natural deodorizer. According to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) belief, drinking salt water reduces the toxins and heatiness (“warming” effect that causes symptoms like cough) in your body.
In Fridge & Freezer
Storing them in an airtight container (not flimsy takeaway containers!) will help to minimise the durian smell from lingering in your fridge.
You can also leave a dish of baking soda or ground coffee on the shelf of your fridge, which is famous for effectively absorbing smells. Or, leave a small bag of bamboo charcoal in the fridge to absorb the smell.
Tip: If you have spare lemons or other citrus fruit, cut a few generous slices and leave them around your fridge to soak up unpleasant smells and leave your fridge smelling fresh!
In Cars
While some swear by using pandan leaves to get rid of the durian smell, an alternative would be baking soda. Similar to its usage in the fridge, put enough baking soda in a dish to absorb the smell over a few days.
Remove the odour further by also winding down the windows to improve circulation and allow the smell to escape.
Have you heard of or tried any of these durian storage or durian removal hacks? Let us know how well they worked if you did!
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