Tastes like a miracle

Berries from the west african synsepalum dulcificum plant

Surfing the net a little while ago, I came across information on this really interesting fruit.

It's called "miracle fruit" and it could definitely become a cool new thing in specialty foods...

The berry contains a protein called miraculin which binds to the flavor receptors on your tongue - so for a period of time (usually between 20 minutes to an hour), anything sour...and even some bitter foods...will taste incredibly sweet.

here's a clip of some people experimenting with the miracle berry

Quite the mind-bender, huh?

One caveat is that the fruit is very fragile, so it's kind of difficult (and pricey) to purchase fresh. Conveniently, it's also available in tablet form which supposedly has the same effect.

The effects of the miracle fruit look to go way beyond the usual foodie novelty, though. The medical industry and food manufacturers are researching how miraculin can aid in the development of diet products, and possibly help people with chronic sweet tooths, and even those with diabetes!

The strange thing is that a few food companies tried to utilize the benefits of miracle fruit back in the 70's, but a bit of controversy may have stopped things in their tracks.
Things that make you go, hmmm?


Now, if only I could get my hands on some... I can only imagine what a jar of dill pickles would taste like with my newly altered tastebuds! :)
Too bad miracle berries are a bit expensive - and I'm broke, lol.

In any event, the long term impact of mainstreaming miraculin is potentially huge...

I mean, imagine getting kids to scarf down bitter veggies with no problems, lol?

What do you think?

Joe Fornabaio / NYT