What did I just eat?

When you buy Durian in the states, it must arrive frozen (tho will likely be defrosted in the market case). As freezing it takes away about 90% of the aroma, it really isn't that bad (trying it somewhere where it's fresh is another story!)

I thought it like a banana-vanilla pudding in terms of both taste and texture. I really liked it!

at Jungle Jims they usually have a display case dedicated to just durian....

Another great way to enjoy jackfruit is when it's part of the tasty Filipino treat, Banana Lumpia...

That looks awesome. Is there anywhere around Louisville that serves them?

Actually, you were at the place, Justin. Choi's, as Andrew pointed out, keeps them in the freezer. Middle row, on the bottom, lol. Make sure you have them double bag it, as the spikes chew up the first bag quickly.

I know Michael Ton has done a Durian sorbet. Actually, the night of the Bourdain event I had a durian colada on the menu...

Ok..I'm not that adventurous. Why would one want to eat a Durian if they smell like rotting corpses? I'm assuming it tastes the same too?

It's challenging fare, kinda like eating superspicy foods, or palpatating cobra hearts. It's done to expand one's palate or test the limits of one's endurance or tolerance. Which reminds me, I gotta post a youtube video of this guy eating a whole habanero...

Another great way to enjoy jackfruit is when it's part of the tasty Filipino treat, Banana Lumpia...

That looks awesome. Is there anywhere around Louisville that serves them?

Actually, you were at the place, Justin. Choi's, as Andrew pointed out, keeps them in the freezer. Middle row, on the bottom, lol. Make sure you have them double bag it, as the spikes chew up the first bag quickly.

I know Michael Ton has done a Durian sorbet. Actually, the night of the Bourdain event I had a durian colada on the menu...

Banana Lumpia?

When I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area my Filipina girlfriend used to make banana/jackfruit lumpia quite a bit..For an even better experience....Add a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top of the lumpia and it's tropical heaven...

If you want Lumpia, periodically Asiatique will have it . . it may not be as authentic Filipino, but rather more Indonesian or Malasian versions.

I was looking at www.specialtyproduce.com and saw this ...
Jack Fruit
Inventory, lb : 0
This item was last sold on : 04/08/09
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Seasons/Availability
Jackfruit can be purchased in chunks, whole, or just as seed segments.

Current Facts
The tree bearing jackfruit can produce one hundred-fifty to two hundred-fifty fruits a year that are suspended on sturdy stalks that grow along its main trunk and larger branches.

Description/Taste
The largest of all tree-borne fruits, jackfruit is oval-shaped and knobbly-skinned. This exceptional fruit can weigh up to eighty or ninety pounds! Average weight for jackfruit is forty to fifty pounds. This firm fruit can be three feet long and eighteen inches wide. During the ripening process, the skin turns from light green to yellow-brown and develops an intense sweet fragrance. Jackfruit contains a number of large white kidney-shaped seeds that can be boiled or roasted and used for seasoning. As many as one hundred one-inch seeds can be found in each fruit and are more highly valued than the pulp. A fleshy segment encloses the seed and is considered the choicest part of the fruit. The flavor of its pink, golden, or cream-colored juicy flesh is very sweet, with a hint of melon, mango, papaya, and banana. A close relative to breadfruit, and like pineapple, jackfruit is a collective fruit made up of fused individual fruitlets. One variety of jackfruit has a melting, soft flesh and another has a crisp, firm pulp.

Applications
Delicious simply eaten out of hand, immature fruit is excellent boiled, fried, or roasted like a vegetable. Mix ripe jackfruit in curries and in fruit salad. Baked or cooked, jackfruit makes luscious desserts, preserves, and syrup.

Ethnic/Cultural Info
Asian cuisine uses this special fruit as a condiment and adds slices to their special curries.

Geography/History
Growing in the rain forests, the origin of this fruit is from India to the Malay Peninsula. The name "jack" comes from Portuguese explorers in the sixteenth century, as it sounded like "tsjaka," the Malay word for this fruit. This giant fruit now grows in most tropical areas, including South Florida and Southeast Asia.