Miracle Fruit Berry
I was watering the miracle fruit plant the other day, when a flash of red caught my eye. I carefully pulled back the leaves, and found a plump red berry hiding in the foliage. For those of you who aren't familiar with miracle fruit, once you eat a miracle fruit berry, anything you eat that is sour will taste sweet. The berries contain a substance called 'miraculin', which coats the tongue and is thought to alter the shape of your 'sweet receptors' so that they respond to acids. For example, if you were to eat miracle fruit and then eat a lemon, the lemon would taste like lemonade.
I had tried miracle fruit tablets before, but never a fresh berry. It was about an inch long, bright red, and very little flesh. The fruit is mostly one large seed, surrounded with a very thin layer of flesh with a very faint cherry-like flavor. I chewed the berry slowly, taking care not to damage the seed, and coated my tongue with the skin and flesh.
The effect of fresh miracle fruit appears to be more potent that the effect you get from the tablets. After a few minutes, I tried a variety of foods and drinks to see how their respective tastes would be different after eating miracle fruit. Lime juice tasted like limeade, orange juice tasted like pure sugar, and a Honeycrisp apple tasted like candy. The tart juice of a kumquat tasted like lemonade, and a banana tasted like ice cream, but it made beer taste bland and unappealing.
My little plant is covered with blossoms and buds, so I'm hoping I will get several more berries before it gets too cold. If Dr. Wife lets me, and the cats don't eat it, I might bring it in the house for the winter. I really hope to have some more berries when my calamondins are ripe. Eating a calamondin after eating a miracle fruit tablet is indescribable, and I think it will be even better with a fresh berry.
I had tried miracle fruit tablets before, but never a fresh berry. It was about an inch long, bright red, and very little flesh. The fruit is mostly one large seed, surrounded with a very thin layer of flesh with a very faint cherry-like flavor. I chewed the berry slowly, taking care not to damage the seed, and coated my tongue with the skin and flesh.
The effect of fresh miracle fruit appears to be more potent that the effect you get from the tablets. After a few minutes, I tried a variety of foods and drinks to see how their respective tastes would be different after eating miracle fruit. Lime juice tasted like limeade, orange juice tasted like pure sugar, and a Honeycrisp apple tasted like candy. The tart juice of a kumquat tasted like lemonade, and a banana tasted like ice cream, but it made beer taste bland and unappealing.
My little plant is covered with blossoms and buds, so I'm hoping I will get several more berries before it gets too cold. If Dr. Wife lets me, and the cats don't eat it, I might bring it in the house for the winter. I really hope to have some more berries when my calamondins are ripe. Eating a calamondin after eating a miracle fruit tablet is indescribable, and I think it will be even better with a fresh berry.
Miracle Fruit Berry
Miracle Fruit Seed
Lime Juice - Tastes like limeade.
Beer - Miracle fruit ruins a hoppy beer. Yuck.
Orange Juice - Unbelievably sweet, like drinking pure sugar.
Honey Crisp Apple - Tastes like candy.
Changshou Kumquat - Very very sweet.
Miracle Fruit Blossom
