Durian is known as a "difficult" fruit, not only in care but also in the harvest stage. In particular, the ripeness control stage is considered a vital factor, deciding the quality and value of each shipment.
To do this, farmers have to rely on durian thresh weavers. They are people with experienced ears, eyes and hands, considered the "artists" of the durian garden.
In large durian growing areas such as Dak Lak, Lam Dong... when the harvest season begins, each group of workers is busy in the garden. With just a small knife, they gently press on the left to listen to the sound, thereby determining whether the fruit is old enough or not. It sounds simple, but in reality it is an extremely difficult skill.
"Many people think that it is more difficult to investigate the durian heart than to investigate the river and sea. When I first started my career, I had many young fruits that I had accidentally cut, and the damage was not mentioned. You have to practice, learn, and fail many times to learn from experience. Up to now, when I see the shell color, the lines, and hear the knocking, I can confidently determine whether the fruit meets the standards or not," said Mr. Truong Van Luc, a carpenter in Dak Lak.
Mr. Huynh Tan Loi, another typist in Dak Lak with more than 10 years of experience in the profession, also admitted: "The biggest difficulty of this profession is that just typing the wrong piece, the damage can be up to tens of millions of VND. The quality of young durian is poor, the test rice is not good, and cannot be exported to China. The value of Vietnamese durian is also affected".
According to Mr. Loi, to determine their maturity accurately, they rely not only on sound but also observe and feel through many senses.
First, in terms of appearance, standard durian must have a characteristic green color, clear thorns, and dry thorns. The road only runs from the culvert to the fruit trunk, which is dark and clear. Most importantly, when hitting the cutting board, you must make a deep, thunderous "pull-up" sound. That is the time when the fruit is old enough to be harvested. On the contrary, the sound of "boong boong" rings out proving that the fruit is still young.
naturally ripe durian has a characteristic aroma that is easily recognizable from afar. If there is no smell or the smell is too strong, it is a sign that the product is not yet available or has ripened too much. However, ripe durian must be eaten immediately, and cannot be transported far or exported.
"Based on all of the above factors, durian according to export standards must be harvested at 7.5 to 8 points or more. Harvested earlier, the rice is not soft and has poor flavor; left too ripe, the fruit is cracky and cannot be stored and transported," said Mr. Loi.
Every good typist often spends many years practicing the profession, having to pay a lot of "tedays" equal to the returned shipments. Some workers had to pay more than a hundred million VND for typing incorrectly and cutting the whole garden.
However, when becoming a profession, each typist can earn tens of millions of VND per day during the harvest season. Because the value they bring is extremely high: ensuring the quality of durian batches of dozens of tons exported.
In the busy space of the harvest season, the sound of the sharp knife playing "bunch and balls" in the durian garden has become a familiar sound. That is the sound of a bumper harvest season, opening a promising export journey of Vietnamese specialties.
