Recently, we had the opportunity to try a little berry called Miracle Fruit. This berry originates in West Africa. I was introduced to the berry from Cafe Imports, a Minneapolis-based green coffee importer. The experiment was performed on a Monday morning in our cupping lab.
As my co-workers meandered into the cupping room, I handed them a frozen berry. The goal of the exercise was to pick apart the different taste sensors in our mouth. Ultimately, the berry ‘deadens’ the sour taste buds. I had an arrangement of lime slices, balsamic vinegar and yellow mustard on the table. After sucking on the berry for a few minutes, the participants were asked to try out the different foods on the table. The mustard turned to honey mustard, the limes turned to limeade and the balsamic vinegar turned to a sweet substance. As one of my co-workers quoted from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, ”The schnaz berries taste like schnaz berries”!
After about 30 minutes the sour tastes came back to all of us. It was a great activity to welcome in a new work week!
I live in Hawaii and came across a small miracle fruit plant at the nursery. I bought it, planted it, and a few months later already had little tiny berries on it. They are truly amazing. I didn’t know that freezing them works too. I am currently in Taiwan, and met a guy who has a whole miracle fruit orchard here. He mostly makes juice and candy out of them, and they lose their make-everything-sweet property this way. He sells the stuff for it nutrient content. I think the sweet factor is the best part of it.