Fruit – Can durian be used as a cocktail ingredient

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I saw that a local Asian supermarket sells durian, so I picked one up, and was thinking that making an alcoholic drink for Christmas would be a great idea, but what kind of drinks could I make?

It seems to be difficult to find recipes. For example, searching for "durian cocktail recipes" has a couple recipes but most results aren't actually cocktails. There are even a couple results talking about whether it's even safe to mix with alcohol.

So, are there any cocktails which use durian? If yes, how do I find the recipes?

Best Answer

There are even a couple results talking about whether it's even safe to mix with alcohol.

I think this is the interesting part of this question: you obviously can use durian in a cocktail, but should you?

As you point out, there's a question of safety. There are at least two reasons to believe that mixing durian and alcohol might not be entirely safe:

  1. One study suggests that a component of durian can interfere with alcohol metabolism.

  2. There's evidence that eating durian can increase blood pressure.

For most healthy people, the risk associated with drinking a durian cocktail might not be all that great. On the other hand, sharing a cocktail with friends and family should be a safe, enjoyable activity that doesn't require interviews about the imbibers' medical conditions and the signing of waivers.

The last thing you want to do as a host is to offer your guests something that you don't know to be safe. There are hundreds of other fruits available for use in cocktails, so I'd steer clear of durian until more is known about its interaction with alcohol metabolism and blood pressure.