It's a small, red berry from West Africa with a strange and wonderful property: It makes sour things taste sweet.

I tried one over the weekend, from the same batch Jacob tried. You put the thing in your mouth, chew it, and slosh it around so it coats your tongue. I then bit into two lemon wedges, and ate them both. I chewed them like candy. They tasted like sweet lemonade.

The secret is a glycoprotein called Miraculin (yes, that's actually what it's called) that attaches itself to your taste buds. No one seems to be quite sure how it turns sour and bitter to sweet. The effect lasts for about 90 to 120 minutes.

The fruit is heavily marketed in Japan, where it's used in fruit form, in powder form, and now that scientists have figured out a way to isolate Miraculin, in tablets. Some chefs there have constructed low-cal deserts around the use of the fruit. Wired News reported last December that there's even Miraculin-infused lettuce in the works.

In Japan, the Miracule Fruit is particularly popular among diabetics and dieters. Those are two very large (sorry) and growing markets in the U.S. It's also used to help leukemia patients get back their appetites, and to make bitter medicine more palatable. All this would seem to mean a great market for the stuff in America. So why can't U.S. consumers get any?

It seems that the FDA banned the fruit under mysterious circumstances in the 1970s. I've seen speculation on various websites that it may have had something to do with the sugar industry, or with the fact that aspartame was working its way to FDA approval at about the same time. There's been little written about why the fruit was banned, only that the prohibition appears to have been sudden and unexpected. It came on the eve of one compnay's plan to roll out a major marketing campaign.

The Miracle Fruit has been used for centuries, now. And there have been quite a few studies of it, with no known ill-effects, other I guess than that it could potentially cause something toxic to taste better than it should. That hardly seems like a reason to ban it.

Seems like something the FDA ought to revisit, particularly with the uptick in diabetes cases over the last several years.

Anyone ever try this? It seems pretty incredible and I'm really surprised it's not more well known.

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/118589.html



Here is also an good NY Times article about it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/dinin ... ref=slogin

I'm thinking about buying myself a plant and seeing what comes of it.

:idea:

That NY times article said it makes vinegar taste like apple juice. Drinking large quantities of vinegar is supposed to help you pass urine drug tests. The only problem is most people can't handle drinking a bottle of vinegar the night before.

Miracle fruit is available as freeze dried granules or in tablets - this form has a longer shelf life than fresh fruit. Tablets are made from compressed freeze dried fruit which causes the texture to be clearly visible even in tablet form.

The effect of Miracle fruit is made possible by contact with the tongue, not through digestion. For this reason, tablets must be allowed to dissolve in the mouth. The most pronounced effect can be achieved by coating the entire tongue in a paste of Miracle fruit for up to 30 seconds.

The tablets are currently very difficult to get outside of Asia. However, in many countries they can be purchased on the Internet.

:idea:

That NY times article said it makes vinegar taste like apple juice. Drinking large quantities of vinegar is supposed to help you pass urine drug tests. The only problem is most people can't handle drinking a bottle of vinegar the night before.

I've seen speculation on various websites that it may have had something to do with the sugar industry

I just can't turn down something that says "Mysterious Fruit Tab"

Hmm, I'm gonna see if I can find this. I just can't turn down something that says "Mysterious Fruit Tab"

!!!! that's right, you're in japan. jim you should send us some if it's worth it. do you have paypal?
i doubt that customs agents will identify it as something that isn't supposed to be there. it isn't like it's pot or cocaine. i've never heard of any "miracle fruit" sniffing dogs

Boy that's exactly what I need. To send illegal drugs to america

So if you have a girlfriend who won't let you cum in her mouth because she doesn't like the taste....

You can actually find the tabs on eBay

But I'm more interested in growing the plant myself. There are nurseries around where you can mail order the plant. I'm probably going to give that a shot.

You can actually find the tabs on eBay

But I'm more interested in growing the plant myself. There are nurseries around where you can mail order the plant. I'm probably going to give that a shot.

Buggy Ding Dong, I want to visit your garden some time and sample all of your homegrown plants.

Sure. Come and sample a handful of seeds from the Abrus precatorius plant. You'll love them to death.