Trip to the Pittsburgh Strip District with Two Registered Dietitians
As a dietitian I am on an endless pursuit for food and nutrition related knowledge. The same holds true for my dietitian friends. Yes, we are so cool that we spend hours talking about nutrition and cooking. Recently our quest of curiosity led myself and fellow friend and dietitian Coryn Kalwanaski to the Strip District in Pittsburgh. If you have not taken a day to explore this magical land of inspiration you really should. No other place affords you experiences like Andy’s sushi or 1000 year old duck eggs.
Andy’s Sushi in the Strip can’t be beat
One of my main stops in the strip is the Lotus Food Company. This Asian store has products and flavors that will truly make you think of food in new ways. A prime example being the durian fruit, or stinky fruit. I had never seen such a mean, aggressive, Lord of the Ring looking fruit. If Roald Dahl had know about this fruit when writing “Lamb to the Slaughter” the durian fruit would have been the murder weapon.
Metric ton moster fruit
Just a little background on the durian fruit. Native to Southeast Asia, this tree fruit is a good source of vitamin C as well as a being higher in fat (no cholesterol) than most other fruits. The durian, nicknamed the King of Fruits, is also source for potassium, fiber, the B complex. While it is still a fruit, 33% of the calories come from fat so it should still be eaten in appropriate portions. Too much of anything is not good. All in all the durian fruit is something that everyone should try at least once. Below is a basic nutrition report from the USDA National Agriculture Library, Nutrient Data Laboratory. Values shown are for the edible portion of the fruit. 
Seriously, carrying this thing to the car was my least favorite memory of this trip. There was no way the nylon bag was going to support the weight of even a babies breath, let alone this 10 pound death machine. If I were to go to war I would consider turning it into a mace or a spiked helmet. Opening it was no better then carrying it. Coryn and I watched a YouTube video where a Hawaiian Park Ranger opened one with his hands by locating the seams and pealing back the husk. I was not nearly as successful. My stubbornness and lack of patients made for a very painful and frustrating experience. However, my trusty meat cleaver and blatant disregard for personal safety eventually did the trick.
The frustration began to build
Upon openingthe fruit we discovered that it was partially frozen. This was a good thing because as it warmed up the pungent odor became more obvious. I am still not sure how to describe it, but “unique” sounds good. From my understanding this fruit can be so stinky that it is forbidden from some public places in Asia. Inside we found four chambers that ran the length of the fruit. It was a creamy, banana, vanilla, custard like filling with large seeds dispersed throughout. Once you got past the smell the fleshy, creamy filling was very tasty and satisfying.
As Coryn and I often do we began to wonder what else could be done with the edible portion. I mean I already hacked it apart like a drunk samurai so we may as well see what we can do with the fruit. I suggested using it to make ourselves body armor and playing “Who is the toughest Registered Dietitian”, but my partner in crime was not as thrilled with the idea. But waffles sounded like an idea. Besides, I just purchased a Belgian Waffle Maker. The recipe followed was my pancake recipe. In fact, this is the same recipe I used for the Pittsburgh City Marathon Training Kick-off events. But rather than use the half cup vegetable oil it calls for, we replaced it with a half cup durian. Even though it is not a traditional Belgian Waffle recipe it worked great in the waffle maker.
Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 large eggs
2 cups 100% whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups skim milk
1 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
half cup pureed durian fruit, seeds and any fibrous parts removed
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
Beat eggs till fluffy. Then beat in the rest of the ingredients till smooth. Pre-heat waffle maker or skillet appropriately and pour in correct amount of batter. Makes 5-7 waffles or 28-30- 3 inch pancakes.
To our shear amazement they were actually very good. And it looked amazing. The durian replaced the oil perfectly. They were light, fluffy, did not stink, and tasted great. The fruit added just a touch of sweetness and saved a ton of calories from the oil. But best of all they did not smell like the durian. Also, we pureed the flesh with blueberries, raspberries, black berries, and strawberries to create a sweet, fruit based cream sauce. The creamy texture and sweet flavor of the sauce had little odor and complimented the fluffy, slightly sweet waffles perfectly.
