Meet the American woman hunting for Asia’s best durians

By Kate Springer, CNN
7 minute read
Published 8:23 PM EDT, Wed August 22, 2018
<strong>Durian hunter:</strong> Best known for their pungent aroma and starchy, custard-like texture, durians aren't for everyone.
Durian hunter: Best known for their pungent aroma and starchy, custard-like texture, durians aren't for everyone.
Lindsay Gasik/Year of the Durian
<strong>Meet Lindsay: </strong>But American Lindsay Gasik is completely obsessed. On her blog <a href="https://www.yearofthedurian.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Year of the Durian</a>, Gasik documents the fruit's complexity and nuanced flavors, relays engaging stories about durian farmers and tracks down hard-to-find varieties.
Meet Lindsay: But American Lindsay Gasik is completely obsessed. On her blog Year of the Durian, Gasik documents the fruit's complexity and nuanced flavors, relays engaging stories about durian farmers and tracks down hard-to-find varieties.
Year of the Durian/Lindsay Gasik
<strong>Durian diaries:</strong> Based in Penang, Malaysia, she also leads durian tours and has penned two guide books, including recently published "The Durian Tourist's Guide to Penang".
Durian diaries: Based in Penang, Malaysia, she also leads durian tours and has penned two guide books, including recently published "The Durian Tourist's Guide to Penang".
Year of the Durian/Lindsay Gasik
<strong>On the trail: </strong>"(While traveling), I started noticing that there was this kind of obsession on durian, a fixation on durian, more than any other fruit ... People would travel from all over the world just to eat this one kind of fruit," 29-year-old Gasik tells CNN Travel.
On the trail: "(While traveling), I started noticing that there was this kind of obsession on durian, a fixation on durian, more than any other fruit ... People would travel from all over the world just to eat this one kind of fruit," 29-year-old Gasik tells CNN Travel.
MOHD RASFAN/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
<strong>Passion fruit: </strong>There are thousands of durian varieties in the world, growing in tropical latitudes from Hawaii to Borneo, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Brunei, Malaysia and more.
Passion fruit: There are thousands of durian varieties in the world, growing in tropical latitudes from Hawaii to Borneo, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Brunei, Malaysia and more.
From Jakub Lewandowsk
<strong>World of durians: </strong>Gasik not only tells stories about farmers and vendors, but she also documents durian varieties in delicious detail. Part of her mission, she says, is to hunt down durian varieties that are often overlooked.
World of durians: Gasik not only tells stories about farmers and vendors, but she also documents durian varieties in delicious detail. Part of her mission, she says, is to hunt down durian varieties that are often overlooked.
HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
<strong>Digging in:</strong> Of the 130-some registered varieties in Malaysia, Gasik would guess that she's tasted at least 65 over the past 10 years. In Thailand, she's sampled about 65 of 234 types.
Digging in: Of the 130-some registered varieties in Malaysia, Gasik would guess that she's tasted at least 65 over the past 10 years. In Thailand, she's sampled about 65 of 234 types.
Year of the Durian/Lindsay Gasik
<strong>Tried and tested</strong>: "There are durian that (taste) like coffee, milk chocolate, white chocolate, coconut cream, whisky, wine... " says Gasik. Some even taste like banana rum.
Tried and tested: "There are durian that (taste) like coffee, milk chocolate, white chocolate, coconut cream, whisky, wine... " says Gasik. Some even taste like banana rum.
NOEL CELIS/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
<strong>Diverse durians</strong>: Durians are wildly diverse, not just in terms of variety, but also in the local cultures and practices that surround them.
Diverse durians: Durians are wildly diverse, not just in terms of variety, but also in the local cultures and practices that surround them.
NICHOLAS YEO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
<strong>The right cut:</strong> In Thailand, people prefer to eat durian a little bit early to give them a longer shelf life and a starchy, sweet flavor with hardly any aroma at all.
The right cut: In Thailand, people prefer to eat durian a little bit early to give them a longer shelf life and a starchy, sweet flavor with hardly any aroma at all.
Year of the Durian/Lindsay Gasik
<strong>Just like custard: </strong>In Malaysia, meanwhile, people prefer to let the durian ripen fully on the tree and drop naturally to the ground. At that point, the pH has dropped, the fat content has increased, and the aromatic bulbs inside will smell more strongly of sulfur as they ripen, she adds.
Just like custard: In Malaysia, meanwhile, people prefer to let the durian ripen fully on the tree and drop naturally to the ground. At that point, the pH has dropped, the fat content has increased, and the aromatic bulbs inside will smell more strongly of sulfur as they ripen, she adds.
From Jakub Lewandowsk
<strong>On the nose:</strong> "The typical stinky egg and onion sulfur smell comes out in later stages of ripeness and, often, the smell wafting up and down streets is really the rotting shells," she adds. "Really, fresh durian smells mild and gassy like fresh grass."
On the nose: "The typical stinky egg and onion sulfur smell comes out in later stages of ripeness and, often, the smell wafting up and down streets is really the rotting shells," she adds. "Really, fresh durian smells mild and gassy like fresh grass."
Year of the Durian/Lindsay Gasik
<strong>A lifelong adventure:</strong> For Gasik, durians really have changed her life. The fruit has opened up a new world, a career and a calling.
A lifelong adventure: For Gasik, durians really have changed her life. The fruit has opened up a new world, a career and a calling.
NICHOLAS YEO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
<strong>New experiences:</strong> "If you're looking for experiences, a really great way to do it is to hunt durian," says Gasik.
New experiences: "If you're looking for experiences, a really great way to do it is to hunt durian," says Gasik.
Year of the Durian/Lindsay Gasik
<strong>New friends:</strong> "It's sort of a dive into their culture that people really appreciate," says Gasik. "You end up having really great conversations with people."
New friends: "It's sort of a dive into their culture that people really appreciate," says Gasik. "You end up having really great conversations with people."
Year of the Durian/Lindsay Gasik
Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians
CNN  — 

You can’t go far in Southeast Asia without encountering a durian.

Measuring up to 1 foot in length, the “King of the Fruits” has an unmistakable shape – a spiky, barbed ball filled with a starchy, custard-like pods – and an infamously pungent aroma.

While some Westerners struggle to stomac