Durian

[steev]

There are fresh durian in my local produce market today.

[Deleted]

Please let me know if we can make an arrangement.

[steev]

Dude! They are whole; I didn't check either price or weight. I have no interest or knowledge of durian. What would you want to do and how? I'm game, but what? You want I should weigh and price one? Ship it whole or just seeds (how? packed in damp moss?). Really, I'm flying blind, here.

BTW, if we're contemplating getting you some durian(seeds), would you want dates? They have 4-6 varieties right now. If so, any you wouldn't want, and how many of those you do. Oh, yes, would you want the fruit, or just the seeds? Whatever you want to pay the cost and postage on.

[steev]

I'm actually not working on commission for this market, but they also have fresh mangosteen and rambutan right now. Just informing. I love this market; they get the most amazing range of produce. They're supplying Berkeley's diverse population of foodies.

[blueadzuki]

I'd go slowly with those two. An awful lot of "fresh" mangosteen are actually frozen and then thawed so much so that, unless the sign actually says "never frozen" and you can trust the supplier to be telling the truth (no insult to them, I'm simply pointing out that the more "mainstream" a market is, the closer scrutiny they'll be under from authorties, and the more likey they will be to "toe the line" on imported fruit (wherein pretty much NONE of it is supposed to get her in a condition where the seed would be viable) assuming it was frozen (or irradiated) at some point is a pretty safe bet. Same thing with the rambutans, most of them are still irradiated (I have managed to grow one rambutan tree in my life, but that was years ago, and I think that batch came from that tiny orchard they have somewhere in Belize (the one that meets the FDA sanitary standards enough that it doesn't need irradiation). I have never managed to get a mangosteen seed to grow, and I'm pretty good at growing the seeds from those kinds of fruit.

[Deleted]

Jan 9, 2013 0:37:23 GMT -5 steev said:

Really, I'm flying blind, here.

Then, it's a pain. They're heavy. That is a given. After they sit for several days, they will leak a little through the spikey shell. They are not dull, so can be tough to open.

The unusual smell is notorious.

It's not a burden to put upon the initiated.

I mainly post my interest, because it's better to be able to actually talk to someone who is sending me sensitive plant material.

I am not quite ready to drop $150, just yet, which was the price at one nursery.

Jan 9, 2013 6:58:39 GMT -5 blueadzuki said:

... actually frozen and then thawed

I was only aware of one possible exception, being closer to the port cities, because tropical fruit, in general, don't travel well, short of being frozen. That is exactly what I would expect, unless I knew better.

Jan 9, 2013 6:58:39 GMT -5 blueadzuki said:

sanitary standards

I apologize for having no more respectful way of saying it, but sanitary standards are not a given, when dealing with third worlders.

Firstly, they will only wipe off the moldy fruit, for as long as possible, and are not especially thorough in doing that much.

The last time, I visited one of these places just a short drive away from me, they sprayed bleach on a hot grill. I am not quite allergic enough to have made a scene, but did find it stifling, as I made my way toward the door.

I read the labels. Again, I try to keep it casual. They definitely carry things, which aren't supposed to be sold in this country.

[blueadzuki]

Jan 9, 2013 10:50:17 GMT -5 @degzing said:

I was only aware of one possible exception, being closer to the port cities, because tropical fruit, in general, don't travel well, short of being frozen. That is exactly what I would expect, unless I knew better.

Well, it's not quite as grim as that. Yes if you live well outside a major metropolitan area, the fruit will likey have had to be frozen. But if you do live in an area, the situation may be a bit better. Most (or at least, a good portion of) tropical fruit now arrives via airplane, and if you live close to a large international airport, it is entirely possilbe for fresh fruit to be available (available legally is another matter). Speaking for my position in the NY area, most of the fruit arrives in Canada (where they are less concerned with pests, and therfore looser with the irradiation laws, and gets smuggled in over the border. The magosteen are frozen simply becasue they really don't keep well, but as far as I can tell most of the rest of the Tropical fruit arrives with whatever seeds it has perfectly viable. If I ever find salak (snakefruit) I fully expect that will give me trouble, but that's just because it's a palm, and most palms have seed that is super recalcitrant.

Jan 9, 2013 10:50:17 GMT -5 @degzing said:

Jan 9, 2013 6:58:39 GMT -5 blueadzuki said:

sanitary standards

I apologize for having no more respectful way of saying it, but sanitary standards are not a given, when dealing with third worlders.

Firstly, they will only wipe off the moldy fruit, for as long as possible, and are not especially thorough in doing that much.

The last time, I visited one of these places just a short drive away from me, they sprayed bleach on a hot grill. I am not quite allergic enough to have made a scene, but did find it stifling, as I made my way toward the door.

I read the labels. Again, I try to keep it casual. They definitely carry things, which aren't supposed to be sold in this country.

I certainly not disagreeing with you, but I think you misinterpreted what I was saying. What meant in this case was that I read an article a while back about an American expat grower who had started growing rambutan in Belize, and had manged to get his farm up to whatever standard is neccecary for the USDA to give him their stamp of approval. It had nothing to do with how well the fruit got to this country freshness wise, it had to do with him being able to run a clean enough farm that the USDA inspectors (I guess some actually flew down there) to issue him a phytosanitary certificate (or the equivalent for people growing fruit for sale) so that fruit from his farm was 1. legal to import to the US and 2. EXEMPT from the standard requirement of irradiation. Remember the USDA does not really care about trying to keep people from growing tropical fruit (domestic growth would actually probably be to thier advantage, easier to regulate and tax) , it's worried about pests getting in. The fact that the exemption also means those have still growable pits is just a side effect (which we can take advantage of) I must have managed to buy a box of his once, or a box grown domestically (most of the rambutans sold in this country come from Mexico (and are irradiated) but I think there are tiny orchards in places like lower California and florida (Basically wherever Lychees are grown commecially, the fruits are closely related and take very similar conditions). I think the same guy was working on "legal" mangosteens and had managed to do so (though his production is so low for the moment that the fruits were going for something like $30 apiece (as compared to the $10 or so a bagful of smuggled in frozen go for)

[castanea]

I have 3 durian seed, just extracted from a fresh, not frozen, durian fruit.

[Deleted]

(I've just learned that you're named after a plant genus.)

I did have someone buy a fresh fruit, in HI, but the seeds haven't arrived yet.