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“Miracle Fruit” Nearly Turns Water into Sweet Wine

  • Spence Cooper
  • October 7, 2010

“You pop it in your mouth and scrape the pulp off the seed, swirl it around and hold it in your mouth for about a minute. Then you’re ready to go.”That’s what host Franz Aliquo told his 40 guests at a “flavor tripping party” as he handed each one a single berry from his jacket pocket and took their $15 entrance fee.

The berry — also known as a flavor berry, magic berry, and miracle fruit — is from the Synsepalum dulcificum plant, and was first discovered in West Africa in 1725. The berry turns everything sweet by numbing sour and bitter tastebuds for a couple of hours after eating it — so Tabasco sauce on the tongue ends up tasting like “hot doughnut glaze!”.

This is how Franz Aliquo’s party guests described their sweet taste experiences: limes were candied, vinegar resembled apple juice, goat cheese tasted like cheesecake on the tongue and goat cheese on the throat, and bananas, well, were just bananas. “It was like no holds barred in terms of what people would try to eat, so they opened my fridge and started downing Tabasco and maple syrup,”said Aliquo.

But Mr. Aliquo warns that it will make all wine taste like Manischewitz, and foods like candy that are already sweet “can become cloying”. Mr. Aliquo gets his miracle fruit from Curtis Mozie, 64, a Florida grower who sells thousands of the berries each year through his Web site.

“Miracle Fruit” Nearly Turns Water into Sweet WineAccording to a scientist who has studied the fruit, Linda Bartoshuk at the University of Florida’s Center for Smell and Taste, the cause of the reaction is the Miraculina protein which binds with the taste buds and acts as a sweetness inducer when it comes in contact with acids.

“The pulp of the fruit contains a glycoprotein called Miraculin. When the Miraculin protein is combined with acids it stimulates the sensation of sweetness in the tongue. Then, when sour or acidic foods are eaten it sends a message to the brain that the food is sweet tasting. This sensation can last thirty minutes and up to two hours, depending how long you leave the pulp in your mouth.”

The FDA — busy streamlining the introduction of unlabeled genetically engineered salmon despite strong public and political opposition — banned miracle fruit in the 1970’s because of pressure from the sugar industry. The FDA classified the berry as a food additive, and research was sabotaged by the sugar industry to thwart competition. The FDA denied the claims but refused to release any files on the subject. [See The Mysterious Death of the Miracle Berry].

Health Benefits

Kathleen Blanchard, RN, notes researchers suggest the “magic berries”might help diabetics, and patients who experience a metallic taste and loss of appetite from cancer treatment.

Since drinking vinegar helps sugar levels go down, miracle fruit allows diabetics to drink the vinegar without the bad taste of the vinegar. And miracle fruit can benefit cancer patients who stop eating from chemotherapy.

According to researcher Dr. Mike Cusnir, an oncologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center. “Most of the patients undergoing chemotherapy have weight loss. Then they cut further into their diet and then this furthers the weight loss. It causes malnutrition, decreased function of the body and electrolyte imbalance.” “Good news, If you’d like to pick some up they sell it on Amazon here.”

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