BANDAR BAHARU, Aug 2 — Would anyone take the trouble to travel far and spend hundreds of ringgit just to eat durians? Yes, they would, especially the durian aficionados.

As it is durian season now, the durian orchards around Bandar Baharu in Kedah has been drawing the crowds who want to savour the Blackthorn (Duri Hitam) variety synonymous with the area.

The owners of the orchards also want more people to get to know what they have to offer, hence they invited the eager media members to their orchards recently .   

However, it is not easy to reach the durian orchards. Firstly, one has to leave the vehicle at the foothill and get on the four wheel-drive provided by the orchard owners. Secondly, is a gruelling ride uphill, going as far as two kilometres on steep and rough gradients.

Yet the tantalising taste of the fresh Blackthorn will tell anyone that the trouble taken to get to the orchards is all worth it. It is a totally new experience in savouring durians.  Blackthorn has won the hearts of many While most may have taken for granted all durians taste the same, but durian aficionados have learnt not all durians look and taste the same. They can easily pick out the Blackhorn that has gained popularity over the last few years apart from the other premium names including Musang King, XO, Udang Merah, D24, D13, and D101.

The Blackthorn’s flesh has a slight orange hue and its feels soft. It tastes creamy, sweet and at times sweet and sour. It literally melts in the mouth.

Hence its not surprising to hear from the orchard owners that people drive hundred of kilometres to savour the Blackthorns  and are ready to cough out more than RM100 for each kilogramme of the fruit.

Even durian aficionados from the Thai side have been crossing the border to savour the king of the fruits. There was even a tourist from China who told an orchard owner here that his flight ticket to Malaysia was cheaper than the Blackthorns and the Musang King that he and his group savoured. Are the thorns black? A look at the Blackthorn, also known as Ochee in Chinese, will indicate it is just like any other durian, with its spikes grayish green in colour. So why is it called Blackthorn?

The owner of Serene Orchard at Bukit 90 Relung, Permatang Kerat Telunjuk, here, Heng Mee Oo explained that contrary to its name, the fruit has no black thorns. The easiest way to identify the fruit is the spikeless brown patch at the bottom of the fruit. The patch is actually the shriveled remnant of the flower stamen covering and is as big as a 50 sen coin.

Heng who is the biggest producer of Blackthorn in Bandar Baharu provided several tips on the best way to savour the delicious fruit. The more ‘wrinkles’, the tastier it is

The Blackthorn has to be knocked down to the ground to create the ‘wrinkled’ texture on its flesh inside and to further enhance the fruit’s aroma.

"The more the wrinkle on the flesh, the more tantalising it gets. However, do not knock it too hard or subject it to violent drops as the fruit will then could become over wrinkled or turn bad," he said.

Heng also notes that the Blackthorn should be eaten slowly to savour its full taste with the creamy flesh filling the mouth cavity.

"After eating just wash your lips and fingers. Don’t drink any water for 20 to 30 minutes. Only then eating the Blackthorn is complete. This technique will help reduce the discomfort some may feel after eating durian,” he explained referring to the belching one may experience after eating the fruit.

A Blackthorn could weigh between 1.5 and 2.0 kilogrammes and fetch RM110 per kilogramme in the local market and more than RM300 per kilogramme in the international market.

Heng’s 37-hectare orchard has 6,000 durian trees, 2,000 of them already matured but demand for the fruit outstrips supply.

Looking at the shortfall in output, Heng advised his fellow durian orchard owners with poor yield to adopt the splice grafting of matured trees technique to produce the Blackthorn clone that not only provides good returns but also quick returns as the trees could mature within three to four years. Getting other orchard owners to switch to Blackthorn

Meanwhile, Bandar Baharu District Agriculture Officer Awang Iffaizul Awang Mohd Sapuani noted that the department wants to see more durian orchard owners opt for the Blackthorn clone using splice grafting method.

Other than producing fruits of quality within a short span of time, it is the best way to rejuvenate orchards with old trees that are no longer productive.

Awang Iffaizul hopes that orchard owners will part with their old trees and plant the new clones.

"They have nothing to lose as they could earn a lot in three years time,” he said.

The department has been undertaking orchard revival programmes and so far favourable outcomes have been seen in two areas – in Relau and Sungai Kecil Hilir here. Bandar Baharu as premium durian hub Owner of Nictron Agriculture Sdn Bhd orchard Patrick Saw notes that the soil, the landscape and the weather in Kedah enables durian to fruit throughout the year with two peak seasons, at the middle and the end of the year.

"With volatile rubber prices, we hope that rubber planters will switch to this premium durian grade,” he added.

He is confident of the returns especially when the Musang King and Blackthorn could fetch more than RM100 per kilogram and most importantly they have penetrated the international market.

That’s not all, Saw noted that it is time to rebrand Bandar Baharu as the best durian enclave in the country as 85 per cent of the world’s high grade durian originates from this area.

"We have to take the initiative to enhance the output of this fruit. The demand is not only from China, Singapore and Hong Kong, in fact from as far as Europe.

"If only we could maximise the output of high quality fruits like Blackthorns and Musang King, I’m confident that Bandar Baharu will draw the durian aficionados from all over to Malaysia,” he said. — Bernama