African Miracle Berries

Has anyone heard of these before? Apparently you can eat them whole, or buy tablets and let them dissolve on your tongue, and then everything that is normally sour tastes sweet! The effect can last anywhere from ten minutes to two hours. (!)

I am going to a local foodie meet-up/dinner in a couple weeks, and the host has procured some of these berries for the event. We're going to have a "Taste Tripping" session after dinner, in which we'll eat the berries and then taste various things to see how weird they are. I'm so excited! Though I admit to having a somewhat irrational fear of never having my tongue revert to its normal state again. I love sour food.

Aside from the experimentation factor, a main focus of the merchants of these fruits is that they allow one to eat non-sweetened foods, thereby reducing one's sugar intake. I guess they could be a good idea for diabetics. I'm a little more skeptical of the claim that they also reduce the effects of alcohol/hangovers, though perhaps I should put it to the test at this dinner

Oh and here is a site about them: http://www.miraclefruithealth.com/mirac ... _faqs.html

Ouch. Oof. Oh, my eyes, my eyes. That site is so-o-o-o-o spammy. Just reeks of late-night TV ads... call now, operators are standing by!

A more sober view of the berries is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum

If I understand the issue, the FDA is right not to allow this to be called a sweetener. It does not sweeten anything. It appears to be a selective taste inhibitor, which is a much less sexy thing to advertise but still interesting.

Do let us know how it goes!

...and why would I want sour foods to taste sweet anyway? I hate sweet pickles and love the tartness of fresh fruit. To be denied that would be awful, nothing less.

Curmudgeonly yours,
Mark Lipton

I hate sweet pickles and love the tartness of fresh fruit.

I agree with you, but, perhaps, under extenuating circumstances (e.g., tastebuds damaged by chemotherapy) there might be a use for suppressing that taste sensation in service of a greater goal (e.g., making something palatable enough to consume).

I've heard of these things. Supposedly, it's supposed to be pretty legit. I remember a big news station doing a report where kids tasted vegetables before and after eating the berry and liked the veggies significantly more afterwards. So, in that sense, it may actually do what it's supposed to do.

But the claims are always overblown, and I really doubt that it's going to be the miracle flavoring substance that people claim it is, especially at the exorbitant prices that it goes for.