Miracle Fruit, my new purpose in life

Over lunch the other day, my friend mentioned that another friend of his had purchased some strange fruit from a grower in Florida. His friend claimed that after eating the fruit, your perception of sour and bitter would be altered for thirty minutes. A food that skews your perception of other foods? Yeah, I’m interested.

After doing some Google searching, I found that the fruit is called “Miracle Fruit” and my new purpose in life is to try some. The fruit originates from West Africa where natives would eat it before consuming sour items such as gruel and palm wine. The active ingredient in the fruit, miraculin (sounds fake, I know), takes effect on the tongue and alters how we taste certain foods. From what I’ve read, stout beers taste like ice cream, lemons taste like lemonade, and bologna sandwiches taste like cake. I must get my hands on some and see (taste) for myself!

Unfortunately, Miracle Fruit is not approved by the FDA, so obtaining some is costly. The friend of a friend spent nearly $70 to have his stash shipped overnight from Florida to California. (The fruit loses potency soon after it’s picked, so overnight shipping or freeze-drying is a must.) On the bright side, I just so happen to be traveling to a country where it’s deemed legal and safe, Japan. I’ll keep you all posted on whether I’m able to acquire some.