What each one actually is
D13 and D24 turn up on the same stall boards, at similar mid-range prices, and both get recommended to people who find Musang King too much. That is roughly where the resemblance ends.
D24, also called Sultan, is one of the oldest durians on Malaysia’s clone register. It was registered on 30 November 1937, from a tree in Bukit Merah, Perak, and it was the country’s benchmark durian for decades before Musang King took that position. It is grown widely across Malaysia, so supply is broad rather than tied to one district.
D13 is much newer, and the name is misleading. It is not a Department of Agriculture clone number. It is a place name: Batu 13 in Pagoh, Johor. The variety spent years as an unregistered kampung breed with no formal status, and was only entered on the register in 2022, as D226, under the name Hock 13. So a board that says “D13” is, officially, naming D226.
Flavour and texture, sweet to bitter
Put the two on a sweet-to-bitter line and D13 sits close to the sweet end, D24 further along towards balanced bittersweet.
D13 leads with sweetness and carries only a light bitter finish at the very end, with floral, vanilla-ish notes and an aroma that is mild by durian standards. That mildness is the reason it turns up so often in first-durian recommendations. The flesh is soft, moist and slightly sticky.
D24 is creamier and closer to custard, and its flavour starts sweet before a lingering bitterness comes through. That balance, rather than plain sweetness, is what made it the reference variety before Musang King arrived. Its aroma is unmistakably durian, but milder than Musang King’s.
If you want a durian that pushes back a little, that is D24. If you want one that just tastes good without much resistance, that is D13.
Flesh colour and seed size
The two are easy to tell apart before you even taste them.
D13’s flesh runs bright to deep orange, sometimes with a reddish cast. D24’s is pale yellow, occasionally a warmer yellow when very ripe, nowhere near as saturated as D13’s.
Seed size works against D13 on value. Its seeds are large, so a given weight of whole fruit gives you less edible flesh than the price per kilo implies. D24’s seeds run medium, so you generally get more flesh for the same weight of fruit. Seed size varies tree to tree in both, so treat it as a tendency rather than a guarantee.
The Red Prawn problem
This is the part worth knowing before you pay a premium for either.
D13 is the durian most commonly sold in Singapore under the name “Red Prawn”. It is not Red Prawn. The real thing is D175, and it comes from Penang, not Johor. Some sellers hedge by calling theirs “Singapore Red Prawn,” which is a tell rather than a reassurance: it means the seller already knows the two are not the same fruit.
D24 does not have this problem. Its main confusion is XO, which is not a separate clone but D24 left longer on the tree to ferment. Nobody sells D24 flesh under a more expensive stranger’s name.
None of this makes D13 a lesser durian. It is a legitimate, enjoyable, affordable variety on its own terms. The problem is only when it is sold as something else, at that something else’s price. Before paying Red Prawn money, check three things:
- Seeds. D175’s are small to medium. D13’s are large. Big seeds mean it is very unlikely to be D175.
- Base. D175 carries thorns right down to the bottom of the fruit. D13 has a bald patch at the base with no star seam.
- Husk. D175 is brownish, often with a greenish base to the thorns. D13 is a fresher green.
If the seeds are big, the base is bald and the husk is a fresh green, you are eating D13. That is fine, as long as the price says D13.
Value for money
D24’s age works in its favour. It has been in commercial production since 1937, grown across Malaysia rather than concentrated in one district, so supply is broad and the name carries no scarcity premium the way a recently registered clone might.
D13, correctly labelled, also tends to sit at a fair, affordable price given its kampung-breed history and recent 2022 registration. The trouble is that “correctly labelled” clause. Pay Red Prawn money for D13 and you are paying for a name it does not hold, on top of a flesh-to-seed ratio that already works against it.
So: D24 fairly priced is close to its true worth most of the time. D13 is only good value when the seller is straight about what it is.
D13 vs D24 at a glance
| D13 (D226, Hock 13) | D24 (Sultan) | |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Batu 13, Pagoh, Johor | Bukit Merah, Perak |
| Registered | 2022 | 1937 |
| Flesh colour | Bright to deep orange, sometimes reddish | Pale yellow |
| Flavour | Sweet, light bitter finish, floral, vanilla | Balanced bittersweet, creamy |
| Seed size | Large | Medium |
| Aroma | Mild | Moderate, milder than Musang King |
| Often confused with | Red Prawn (D175) | XO (same clone, fermented longer) |
Who should buy which
Buy D13 if you or the people you are serving want a sweet, gentle durian with barely any bitterness, and you are happy with soft, sticky, floral flesh over a stronger, more layered flavour. Check the base and the seeds before you pay a Red Prawn price for it. A bald base with no star seam and large seeds means you are eating D13, and that is fine as long as the price matches.
Buy D24 if you want more bittersweet character than D13 offers, without Musang King’s intensity, and you would rather pay for an established, widely grown variety than a newer, more contested name. It is also the one to try if you want to understand why it was the benchmark durian for so long before Musang King took over.
For a mixed group, the two work well side by side. Serve D13 first, so its milder flavour is not flattened by tasting after D24, then move to D24 for anyone ready for more bitterness in the finish. It is a useful pairing precisely because they sit at different points on the same axis rather than competing for the same preference.