Initially appalled by the smell, Durian is a favorite when I can get it. Here is a good article with good references: http://modernfarmer.com/2015/01/hail-disgusting-delicious-durian/.

I had frozen durian twice and loved it.  

  I've never tried it.  It's Jon's favorite fruit! hehehehe

I think that's the fruit that made andrew zimmerman from bizzare foods gag. I would love to try it someday anyway.

It's so true, the smell is not good, but the taste is delish!

What is it? Fig. Post a pic. ,

Read this. !!! Raw sewage smell. Is this true. I want to grow this just for the experience. Lol

I've heard about it but don't really understand how the smell can be gross but the taste delicious. 

It it like papaya?  Those smell gross to me.  But then again they taste gross to me too.  But I don't know if the smell is just too overpowering for me to enjoy the taste. 

Rob. I love papaya. But they dont stink to me. They stink to you?

I tried some durian while I was traveling in Malaysia.  I could never get past the garbage smell.  It's true that durian is banned from many public spaces in SE Asia.  Our hotel had signs in the halls with a pictures of crossed out durians.  My travel-mates apparently started really liking it after the 2nd or 3rd try, so it can be an acquired taste.  I don't think there's much of an in-between with durian.  You either love it or hate it, and I [still] fall in the latter group.

@Richard, if you want to try growing durian, find a big space.  All the trees in Malaysia were gigantic!

papaya also has a funky smell.  And don't let it get overripe or you can taste the funk!  I know...I've been there!

Oh man.. durian. My dad loves the stuff, but the rest of the family was never very thrilled to have it around. I remember the fruit always being in the garage fridge but still getting whiffs when I walked by. Yeah, who knew something could be so pungent.

Wonder if this ever went anywhere...http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/world/asia/30iht-durian.1.5082196.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

It stinks; well it more than stinks for something you are going to eat. Along with the "distinctive" aroma is a taste that is just as distinctive.

My mom loves the stuff and I tried it many years ago.  I had to hold my nose!  It was creamy custard like with a good taste, that is until you breath it in! That was it for me.  I couldn't take another bite.  So yes, it is good, but the smell will turn most people off (or me it did!).

The smell will permeate the house without cooking it! LOL

I ate a lot of Jaca when I lived in Brazil. Its similar to Durain. Jaca tastes like strawberry banana custard to me.  The Brazilians say it smells like something else. The Jaca trees and fruit are huge and all over the coastal areas.  The Durian Ive had in ChinaTown in NYC is nothing to write home about.

Durian also grows in the Philippines; even among the locals, it is an acquired taste. The
smell is intolerable enough for most people then the custard-like texture detracts from its
appeal all the more. Candies made from the fruit are not so bad. Perhaps rightly so,
durian has been described as "tasting like heaven and smelling like hell".

One of the worst eating experiences of my life but I have friends that will kill you for one. Go figure.

Initially I hated them, as the first one I had tasted some thing like a sweet onion cream. But I've found that the taste really depends on the fruit. Every durian I've had has tasted a little different, i've had ones which tasted amazing, something like vanilla creme brulle only without the burnt sugar taste, and I've had ones tasted more onion-y (bleh). Although I've never come across a Durian whice actually smells good, they will smell like old onions and natural gas with some kind of sickly sweet overtone.

Durians are a very odd fruit, definitely an acquired taste.

Is there a difference in varieties? I was offered one and I couldn't eat it because of the smell but I was also offered another one that had a fragrant good smell but a bad taste lol.

Very similar to figs there is a huge variety of durians out there each with a different taste and smell. But as I understand it there are only one or two different varieties of durian you can purchase in stores, especially here in the states. But also age is a really big factor that effects the taste and smell, as trees that are over 30 years old are regarded to have the highest quality and most complex flavor than that of it's younger counterparts.

The first one I had (and the last) was acclaimed to be a very good one, and to this day I would rather have taken a swig of gasoline.