Imagine biting into a sweet succulent citrus fruit. Feel the juice explode onto your tongue as your teeth penetrate the flesh. Taste the fresh cloying flavor while it envelopes your taste buds. Now imagine that delicious sweet fruit is a lemon.
This little exercise isn’t a recollection of trying a new kind of infused fruit similar to the Grapple, but the result of the effect of the Miracle fruit that originates in West Africa. This protein harboring berry, when coating the tongue, works with the sweet receptors on the taste buds to transform acidic and sour flavors into a more palate pleasing result.
Known by the scientific term synsepalum dulcificum , the first recorded encounter of miracle fruit was described by French navigator, Reynaud des Marchais, in 1725. Marchais wrote of the mystical powers of the taste transforming fruit after witnessing tribe members chewing the berry pulp before devouring an ordinarily sour meal of fermented porridge.
In the mid seventies, entrepreneur, Bob Harvey, had raised over ten million dollars in his quest to get his version of miraculin approved as a sugar substitute. After pouring most of his capital into developing miralin, a powder form of the protein miraculin, and anticipation of approval from the FDA, Harvey’s hopes were dashed.
Harvey's office was allegedly ransacked by corporate spies. Shortly before launching a new Miralin food product, he received a letter from the FDA, informing him that they would not be approving his powdered form of miraculin as a sugar substitute. The substance would be considered a “food additive” and would require several more years of testing at a substantial cost. Harvey turned his attention towards other pursuits and to this day the fruit is not approved by the FDA for use in other foods.
That was an obvious let down for Harvey and millions of diabetic sufferers who could have benefited greatly from foods including the fabulous sweet affect of miracle fruit. For now the world will have to settle for acquiring their miraculin containing fruit in its natural form or in freeze dried tablets, which have a longer shelf life and are more cost effective to distribute.
The “sweet” folks at Miracle Fruit Express were kind enough to send my a sample box of freeze dried tablets for my own review. This company is the original producer of miracle berry fruit in tablet form and their product is distributed by the people at mberry. You can purchase miracle fruit in plant form, berries or freeze dried tablets, which have a longer shelf life.
As soon as the package arrived I couldn’t wait to pop one in my mouth and begin a flavor tripping voyage with a cornucopia of acidic foods. I sampled fresh cut lemon wedges, a variety of cheeses, strawberries, sour cream, vinegar and a galore of other oddly companied edibles. The best tasting items were the strawberries, which were similar to powdered sugar, and sour cream dip that had a pleasantly sweet after taste.
The mberry tablets did not disappoint and I have several tablets left, which I intend to save for a sampling of exotic drink concoctions at my next dinner party. I feel honored to have been given the opportunity to try such a unique and taste altering natural product.
