Good lord you are brave, woman! I'm nervous to bring fish sauce home!

It's hard to believe something might smell even worse than asafoetida!

Can you imagine the factory where this is produced? And the poor men and women who have to come home from that factory, and their poor spouses...ooohhh the humanity!!

PS: The bottle and labeling look so sweet, nectary and appealing, I hope they don't inspire any would-be adventurous chefs who don't know any better. A nice set of green putrid stink lines would have been a helpful touch.

I can't imagine what anyone would do with this. I had durian in a dessert once before and my god...it was bad.

I ONLY see this as a fantastic practical joke on someone...like a small open container placed in an unsuspecting place...lol!

@michelou - fish sauce is AMAZING when cooked! And compared to this, fish sauce smells like roses. =)

I have no idea what u would make with it! LOL.

Inflict it upon enemies?

erm... why did you buy it if you don't like the scent of durisn?

I love the king of fruits , its texture is similar to avocado and of course I'm asian ;)

@ kriszti does anyone like the scent??

Durians are banned on public transport in Singapore, because they smell that much.

The first time I tried Durian was at a Thai restaurant, in 1000 Oaks, back in the late eighties. It was actually a sorbet. I remember the waiter standing by, smiling, waiting for my redaction. Though it smelled a bit like gasoline, I found the taste intriguing. I have since tried the fruit a couple of times. It's certainly unusual, and pungent, but not nearly as bad as it's reputation. I think you should use your bottle of essence in sorbet, not ice cream.

I didn't think anyone liked the smell, but they suffered it because the flavour of the fruit was good. I can't imagine why you would want to add the essence to anything? Unless it's more flavour than smell?

i would imagine that it's banned in many public places because the scent is so STRONG, not necessarily because everyone ever thinks it smells like garbage.

i'm just hazarding a guess since i can't imagine entire cultures eating something that smells rotten to them. and yes, i am vietnamese and have grown up with durian and while i prefer it it smoothie form, my parents eat the fruit all the time.

Lived in Thailand for a while. Some of my friends didn't mind, and one even liked, the smell of Durian. So, yes, some people do like it!

My friend gave me some durian to try and I was immediately revolted but was too polite to tell her. I had a few more sips (it was a smoothie) and was hooked. The stuff smells vile but the taste is amazing. I've never seen flavoring before. I would definitely vote ice cream!

While the smell of durian is unpleasant, I think shrimp paste is worse. It's almost vomit inducing.

I remember staying in hotels in Thailand with signs posting 'No Durian!'

as Verily commented, I think shrimp paste has a stronger smell ; but adds ummpph to your food :)

I love shrimp paste and fish sauce. And I may have had durian once and I did not run away screaming. Of course I also had no preconceived notions about it either.

What will happen if you put some in cake batter??

I hate eating the fruit.. but durian flavoured cream puffs are completely amazing! If you use the right amount, the flavour is extremely delicate and fragrant. If you try nothing else, try this! Also, chilled durian flavoured custard (with berries on top) is pretty delicious too.

It's not stinky...urgh.

I used it in oats.

If it smells like the real thing it could take on Febreze®.one-on-one in a stand-up fight (and woe to the store employee who gets to do aisle cleanup if one of those bottles breaks).

Durian is so disgusting. I wrongfully grabbed some off a tray once during dim sum. It looked so pretty inside glass eggroll wrappers. It tasted like rotting onions.

I love durian.

As for the essence, my suggestion is always use it only for creamy and sweet things : ice cream, custard, pancake, cupcakes icing, milkshake, something with coconut ...

Never combine with savoury or 'acidic' or any other fruits ...

I find durian essence to not really be like real durian. It's not nearly as strong. It's fine, much more subtle, and it's good in pastries and such. I don't know what your asian market is like, but mine sells slices of what is essentially a dense poundcake with a sandwiched filling, usually durian. It's artificially flavoured and lacks the strong aroma linked to fresh durian (though if people around you are wusses, they will complain.)

How about cookies? I've had durian cookies and gelato before. The worst ever was dried durian--very intense and it got stuck in my teeth. I actually dry heaved.