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Fermentation Atlas

Fruit from Malaysia, Indonesia

Tempoyaktempoyak

Tempoyak is durian flesh mashed with a little salt and shut in a jar, where lactic acid bacteria sour it over a few days to a few weeks. The result is a creamy, yellow-white, sour paste that keeps the durian smell. It is cooked into curries and sambal rather than eaten plain. Made in 4 steps over 31 days – 35 days. The longest step, keep longer for a sourer paste (slow, cool method), takes 28 days (Widowati T.W 2013) and runs at 18–22 °C (Widowati T.W 2013). Salt is 2–15 % (Wasnin R.M 2014). Fructobacillus durionis and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc mesenteroides do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step28 daysMeasured[widowati2013]Keep longer for a sourer paste (slow, cool method)
Temperature18–22 °CMeasured[widowati2013]Keep longer for a sourer paste (slow, cool method)
Salt2–15 %Reported[wasnin2014][widowati2013]Mash with salt
AciditypH up to 4.5Measured[widowati2013]Seal in a jar and ferment
Fully documentedFruit31 days – 35 daysMore fruitMore from IndonesiaMore from Malaysia

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe salt level is from lab studies of the traditional method; households salt by eye, from a pinch to as much as 15 % of the flesh.
Durian flesh, seeds removed[fao134][widowati2013]
2 % (w/w) of the flesh; studies use 2–4 %, and traditional makers 2–15 %Salt[wasnin2014][widowati2013][marwati2025]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 31 days – 35 days

Start
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What changes: Starting material: creamy durian flesh taken off the seeds

Step 1 of 4
Take the flesh off the seeds
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Leuconostoc
Lactobacillus plantarum
Lactic acid bacteria
Lactobacillus
Pediococcus

Output: durian flesh.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Tempoyak is one of very few ferments made from durian. It is a short, low-salt lactic ferment of a soft fruit pulp, so it turns into a paste rather than keeping pieces whole like a brined pickle.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Durian Lai tempoyakMade from a durian hybrid (Durio zibethinus × D. kutejensis); dominated by Pediococcus (56.5 %) and Weissella (12.23 %), where regular durian tempoyak had more Leuconostoc (42.43 %). The best short form used 2.46 % salt, 1.01 % sugar and 2 days.
  • Thai too-rian-prieoThe Thai version, made with sugar as well as salt.

Safety

Lactic acid makes tempoyak sour, but one study found that Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus added to tempoyak survived for 8–12 days. Acid alone does not kill them quickly, so clean fruit and clean jars matter.

Hazards the sources name: Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus (not found in samples, but survived 8–12 days when added to tempoyak).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

FAO's 1998 survey of fermented fruits lists tempoyak as a Malaysian pickled durian. Indonesian sources describe it as a way to keep durian, which lasts only 4–6 days fresh at room temperature.

  1. [fao134] Battcock M., Azam-Ali S. 1998, Fermented fruits and vegetables, a global perspective, FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin 134, chapter 6, 6.1.4 Tempoyak (pickled durian)gov
  2. [chuah2016] Chuah L.O., Shamila-Syuhada A.K., Liong M.T., Rosma A., Thong K.L., Rusul G. 2016, Physio-chemical, microbiological properties of tempoyak and molecular characterisation of lactic acid bacteria isolated from tempoyak, Food Microbiology 58:95–104 (abstract)paper
  3. [wasnin2014] Wasnin R.M., Karim M.S., Ghazali H.M. 2014, Effect of temperature-controlled fermentation on physico-chemical properties and lactic acid bacterial count of durian (Durio zibethinus Murr.) pulp, J. Food Sci. Technol. 51(11):2977–2989 (abstract)paper
  4. [widowati2013] Widowati T.W., Hamzah B., Wijaya A., Pambayun R. 2013, Enumeration and identification of dominant lactic acid bacteria in Indonesian tempoyak during low temperature fermentation, 13th ASEAN Food Conference, Singaporepaper
  5. [marwati2025] Marwati, Candra K.P., Emmawati A., Rohmah M. 2025, Microbial diversity and fermentation optimization of tempoyak from durian and durian lai, Biodiversitas 26(10):4908–4922, doi:10.13057/biodiv/d261007 (abstract)paper