Known to westerners since the 18th century, synsepalum dulcificum, or the acim fruit, is a popular food that contains a mysterious protein that turns sour into sweet. The miracle berry contains a protein called miraculin and comes from West Africa. The miracle berry seems like something Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle would’ve used on a child that would only eat sweet things. The protein causes a sour-to-sweet reaction in any kind of food or drink. Flavor-tripping parties use this berry to turn on the taste buds. Most people gobble up anything they can with the berry and few don’t take to it quite as well. Regardless, eating the miracle berry has no dangers and is a food that will expand cuisine horizons.
Discovered by French cartographer Cavalier des Marchais, the miracle berry was eaten by locals in West Africa before meals. Some people are trying to use the berry’s “miraculous” powers for diets and diabetics. As a diet plan, eating vegetables that tasted like churros and pastries doesn’t seem like a diet many wouldn’t want to try or complain about. Some have even used the berry to counteract the metallic taste left in the mouths of cancer patients by chemotherapy.
The miracle berry contains low sugar and is also used as a sugar substitute for the miraculin content. Miraculin binds to taste buds and acts as a sweetness inceptor when it comes in contact with acids. The effects of the fruit lasts about an hour, enough time to taste all the foods in your fridge like you never have before. But it will come to a steep cost. A single berry can cost up to $2 or more. The fruit is available from a variety of online sellers and companies.
On its own, the fruit tastes like a toned down cranberry. But with other foods, it turns Tabasco sauce into doughnut glaze, lemon sourbet and Guinness into a chocolate shake, vinegar into apple juice, and goat cheese into cheesecake. Some even eat it with oysters Bartenders have been experimenting with this fruit as are many chefs around the world, trying to find the perfect combination of berry and sour foods for a pristine and exotic meal.
For flavor-tripping parties, this berry is a must have. Cheeses, sauces, meats, dressings, and vegetables transform into sweet foods like they’ve been zapped by a Dr. Seuss-like sugar machine. Not everyone will take to this miracle fruit though. The effects last from 45 minutes to an hour so it does no permanent taste bud damage. The berry is also available in granules or tablets and has a shelf-life of 10-18 months.
