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Magical food trip where lemons are sweet, vinegar tastes good
Jodi of Tasty Touring received a sample package of “miracle fruit” from Curtis Mozie, aka the Miracle Fruit Man, who grows the synsepalum dulcificum berries in Florida and sells them over the Internet for about $3 each (with a minimum order of 20).
These small berries, which originate from Western Africa and are about the size of a small grape, contain a protein called miraculin, which alters your taste buds so that acidic and sour foods taste sweet and sweet foods taste even sweeter.
Jodi certainly isn’t the first person to host one of these food tripping parties, but if you’ve never experienced the wacky way it alters common foods, it’s worth getting your friends together to try it.
Radishes were as mild as romaine lettuce, tomatoes reminded me of squishy strawberries. Brussels sprouts and broccoli just tasted like enhanced versions of themselves. The berry didn’t make everything taste better: unsweetened chocolate tasted like mud and garlic tasted like garlic. Guiness with a little bit of lemon juice is supposed to taste like a chocolate shake, but I prefer my stouts without an altered set of taste buds.
However, tonic water, which has been one of my favorite beverages since I was a kid drinking non-alcoholic versions of my mom’s favorite drink, tasted as sweet as it has always tasted in my head.
Those hip kids over at the New York Times made this video to go with a story last year:
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment Categories: Playing with your food
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By Kay
April 30, 2009 1:10 PM | Link to this
I’ve been wanting to try these berries since I first read about them last year. How fun!
By Jodi
April 30, 2009 1:13 PM | Link to this
Such a fun experience and I’m glad you and your family could come. Julian is such a little trooper (or is it tripper)!
By Lorelei Parisien
June 23, 2011 2:15 AM | Link to this
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