Travel to far-flung locations and you’re bound to encounter extraordinary food. Although I tend to skip the more offbeat or infamous dishes—crickets on a stick, deep-fried chicken feet—I invariably try all the local produce. Yeah, I’m a risk taker.

Produce may not seem all that exciting until you consider the spiky, hard-shelled durian fruit. Native to Malaysia and found in tall trees, it’s known for its tough exterior, custardy interior and horrific odor. If its overpowering scent doesn’t get you, its size and sharp spikes might. Weighing up to 10 pounds, falling durian has caused serious injuries and death.

Thanks to its tough reputation, durian ranked high as a food that I had to try. Anything that smelled of rotten cheese, stinky feet and raw sewage and could kill and yet was still willingly, even eagerly, consumed must be good.

While durian will never replace bananas, raspberries or cantaloupe as my favorite fruit, it does have its charms. Its sticky, yellow pulp possesses a warm, nutty, creamy flavor unlike any other produce. Versatile, it pairs well with both sweet and savory foods. In Malaysia cooks make salty as well as sweet preserves with it while in Singapore folks use it to fill crepes and flavor ice cream.

Widely available in Southeast Asia, it’s sold on the streets and in markets from India and to the Philippines. Because of the odor, hawkers usually cut and wrap durian for their customers. As a result, eating this fruit is easy. Simply unwrap and dig in. Just don’t take it with you into the subway or other confined, public spaces. In Singapore it’s a crime to do this while elsewhere it’s merely considered rude.

If you don’t make it to Southeast Asia, you can try durian in the comfort of your own home. Asian and upscale markets carry whole, frozen fruit. Defrost before cracking open the shell and consuming.

In season from June to August ripe durians have solid, healthy stems and rattle when you shake them. They keep about two days so consume them quickly.

DURIAN ICE CREAM
From “The Food and Cooking of Singapore and Malaysia, Indonesia and the Phillipines” by Basan, Tan and Laus (Anness Publishing, 2011)
Serves 8

6 egg yolks
generous 1/2 cup superfine sugar
2 1/4 cups whole milk
12 ounces durian flesh
1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until light and frothy.

In a heavy pan heat the milk to just below boiling. Whisking constantly, add the egg mixture and whisk until well blended. Strain the liquids into another pan, place the pan on medium heat and, stirring constantly, cook until the mixture thickens and forms a custard. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

As the custard is cooling, puree the durian flesh in a food processor or blender.

Once the custard has cooled, whisk in the heavy cream. Fold in the durian puree and pour the mixture into the bowl of an ice cream maker. Churn until ice cream has formed. Note that if you don’t own an ice cream maker, you can pour the mixture into a freezer-proof bowl and freeze for 4 hours, beating twice with a fork or electric mixer to break up the ice crystals.