Durian season must be near. There are so many hits on this site for “durian season”. The flowering just begin in late March and harvest time should be around late June to mid August and peak time should be during early July.
There is no need to have early head start. Early harvest are non viable premature durians. The middle of the harvest season is the best. There will be a glut where durians are sold at markets for as low as 50cts each.
Durians are best eaten within hours of dropping. Those from Johore are harvested in the morning and brought to markets in Singapore by the evening. By then its almost too late. Some are already ripen and has fermented with cloying sweet smell instead of the usual robust durian flavor.
Picking durians in Ubin is just fun activity and shouldn’t be taken seriously. Its more convenient just to buy and have the stallholders pick and open them for you.
Unlike modern cultivars such as d24, durians from Ubin can be frustrating hard to open. With their thick and spiky shell, there is no hairlines visible to force a knife to pry open. To make short work of it, you need 2 useful tools if you intend to eat the durians there and then.
A pair of protective gloves and a “durian knife”.
Durian knives are actually hacking knives sold in hardware stores. They are thick bladed with full tang which you can pound a hammer from the rear and force the edge through. I bought mine for $13.00. Its perfectly legal to carry a knife for legitimate purpose (there is no blanket ban) but do keep the receipt as the police may ask all sorts of questions.
Another alternative is to get a short kitchen knife. This brand with a dolphin logo is commonly found in shops selling kitchen wares. It has a full tang blade which allows you to pry safely. Keep the blade blunt to be safe.
My friend Alan opening durian from its base. A wad of newspaper allows safe grip. He would make several chops along the hairlines to weaken its structure. The knife is then inserted to pry open.
