Miracle Berry

Last night we tried Synsepalum dulcificum, better known as Miracle Berry. It was a bit of a mixed bag, lemons and limes became extraordinarily sweet and tasted pretty good. Red wine on the other had was cloyingly sweet and undrinkable, at least for 20 minutes or so.

From the NYT and Wikipedia...

The miracle fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum, is native to West Africa and has been known to Westerners since the 18th century. The cause of the reaction is a protein called miraculin, which binds with the taste buds and acts as a sweetness inducer when it comes in contact with acids, according to a scientist who has studied the fruit.

While the exact cause for this change is unknown, one theory is that the effect may be caused by miraculin distorting the shape of sweetness receptors "so that they become responsive to acids, instead of sugar and other sweet things." The effect lasts 15–60 minutes.

What's a miracle berry without a little intrigue and conspiracy theory?

From Adam Gollner, author of The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce, and Obsession on Democracy Now...

In the ’60s and the ’70s, an entrepreneur named Robert Harvey created an all-natural alternative to sugar using the miracle fruit, and he managed to synthesize the active ingredient in this berry, which is a protein called “miraculin.”

He started making miracle fruit tablets. Harvey was turning down offers for control because it looked like it was poised to become an all-natural alternative to sugar.

Just as it was about to launch, Harvey’s office was raided by industrial spies (the sugar industry is the prime suspect) and his files stolen. Miraculin got banned just as it was about to launch. Harvey got a letter in 1974 from the FDA saying that miracle berry products are not allowed into the market and as such, he had to close his company.

If you want to try it, you can get miracle berry tablets here.