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Miracle fruit that makes everything sour taste sweet?

crisscross.com — When people eat or lick the fruit's red berries, any sour thing they eat or drink a minute later tastes sweet for about two hours. This is because the protein miraculin firmly binds to sweet receptor cells in a person's tongue when sour substances are present.

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  • _skin_, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1How do I order? Bablefish only translates so far...
  • moosebumps, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The schnozberries taste like strawberries!

    This could come in handy on Fear Factor, but other than that, I need enlightenment as to what the point is.
  • GarfiBlue, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0And why exactly would I want to make a sour thing taste sweet?! :P
  • SakisRakis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2GarfiBlue: Baffle and bufuddle everyone with your ability to pound down sour food? hehe
  • AdamWeeden, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"And why exactly would I want to make a sour thing taste sweet?! :P"

    Well assuming that the chemical is stable, you could inject this into citrus to enhance the flavor, or sell a batch that is particularly sour.
  • DJulz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I live in South Fl. and own one of these plants - the best part is seeing the expressions on peoples faces when they bite into a lime without the pucker-face. It was actually declared illegal by the FDA earlier in the century because they didn't know why it did what it did. Works great with beer, lemons, strawberries. Grapes and Oranges taste like complete syrup. Don't try to grow one in cooler climates - it's a West African plant.
  • tempest, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0I hate to be the one to mention this, but it could probably be effective in some husbandry duties.
    lol
  • BTrey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm amazed that people don't see the potential in this. Imagine adding a little something sour to your tea and having it taste sweet. A nice, sweet beverage with zero (or near zero) calories. Make lemon meringue pie with no sugar and it still tastes great for desert. The diet industry in the US is a multi-billion dollar industry. Someone could make a killing with this.
  • sorriso, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I wonder if the pills are sour... wait... then you'd have to take one before you... took one! Ahh! Infinite loop!
    • simonnnomis, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1They're not. Their fairly bland with a slightly fruity flavour.
  • szelij, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I thought it only makes sour things sweet and not salty things sweet? If it does the latter i'll order a whole dozen now
  • adml_shake, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I should give a basket of these to my GF..."take the hint"
  • o0joshua0o, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Imagine the possibilities with this! You could take one of these pills, and then eat some Sour Patch Kids candy. So instead of the candy tasting sour first and then sweet, it would just taste sweet the whole time!

    WE CAN HAVE CANDY THAT TASTES SWEET THE WHOLE TIME YOU'RE EATING IT! OMG!
  • himthatwas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Artichoke!
  • Dhalgren, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"any sour thing they eat or drink a minute later tastes sweet for about two hours"

    Which is it? A minute later or 2 hours later. Or can you not get rid of the sweet taste for 2 hours?
    • simonnnomis, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1The effects begin after about 5 minutes and last for an hour after that.
  • dixmitty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Is this really a miracle? c'mon who eats lemons anyway? duh. Probably only good for bar bets.
  • shoota, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0@adml_shake I think i'll keep this batch for myself instead of my girlfriend if you get my drift.
  • MrMysterious, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Could you imagine the look on peoples faces when you go to the fridge and grab a bottle of lemon juice and chug it?
  • hoowahman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0They are saying after you eat the pill it takes a minute for it to kick in then everything thats sour tastes sweet for about 2 hours after you eat the pill.
  • ilselu1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Imagine the fellatio implications...
  • matsiescruff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0i wouldn't mind having a batch or two of these berries.
    • simonnnomis, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1The cheapest place I've found to buy this is http://miracleUK.info/ and they ship worldwide. It really is a fun effect - definitely worth trying.
  • modcam, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1In Costa Rica, I had some miracle fruit. It was perfect to make the sour starfruit that was readily available rather tasty. Only problem was, after a few minutes it wore off and then your mouth had that acidic burn feeling.
  • Bushi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Live in south florida also and had a couple plants.. its pretty cool. I think Ive heard it can be used for people that need to take medicine that taste horrible. Not sure if its true or not.
  • mikejonas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'll be waiting for the pill that makes tofu taste like barbecue ribs.
  • adml_shake, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0"@adml_shake I think i'll keep this batch for myself instead of my girlfriend if you get my drift."

    Lol, yeah I got it...I was kinda talking about improving her attitude and other things ;)
  • CaptainGs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0So does this mean drinks high in citric acid (diet drinks) could be sweetened with just miraculin?? Sounds pretty interesting.

    miraculin + lemon_juice == artificial_sweetener

    I suppose the dark side of this would be poisons could be used to taste just like candy.
  • zweibel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Interesting.

    Now if only there were a fruit that would turn my body into rubber. D:
  • shiftless, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This plant has been around forever

    Nutrasweet tried burning all of them out of existance years ago
  • RadiatedAnt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2sweet, maybe THIS CAN MAKE MY WIFE'S COOKING EDIBLE
  • FlyingAvatar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Umm, if your wang tastes sour to your gf, you probably need to wash more.
  • Pogue_Mahone, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0"miraculin"

    Gimme a *****' break. Sour to sweet - what a miracle.

    Look - I just made my fingernails shorter using nothing except a pair of fingernail clippers! Its a goddam miracle!
  • sparty1969, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Now you can make your sweet and sour chicken, Sweet and Sweet chicken. That's just sweet... or sour..or oh crap, I need another pill!!!!
  • hyperation, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I guess people will start eating sour fruits that aren't ripe yet?? Is that the scenario here?
  • adml_shake, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0"Interesting.

    Now if only there were a fruit that would turn my body into rubber. D:"

    Gum Gum fruit...
    lol, i'm sure someone has some on ebay or something
  • Boscolio, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I wonder what throwing up will taste like. That is gonna be weird.
  • dragulaaeop, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0@zweibel There is, it's called "Devils Fruit" but unfortunately Luffy already ate that one. Sorry :( He's on his way to the Grand Line if you want to find him though

    There are some implications to drinking lemon juice (even if it tastes sweet), or anything for that matter, that contains high citric acid. Citric acid is very corrosive and can practically melt the enamel off of your teeth, causing them to be a lot more susceptible to cavities. Also, there is a difference between bitter and sour when it comes to receptors on the tongue, and if this pill just works for sour, then things that are bitter (like chewing some non-chewable pills, poisons?, anything that is actually bitter and not sour) will be unaffected.

    I guess, as some people stated, it has the possibilities to be used as a non/low calorie sweetener, but does that mean sour foods have no/low calories?
    -Dragula Aeop
  • Nadcock, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I thought about ordering, but at $35/ box, i think i can wait. Or maybe I'll just try to grow the plant itself?
  • Stonekeeper, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0News just in! - Ron Jeremies buys out miracle fruit company!

    On a serious note, I wonder how "Sweet and Sour Chicken" would taste after this?
  • TheMadRonin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Flying Avatar said - "Umm, if your wang tastes sour to your gf, you probably need to wash more."

    Your man-taste is based off of your diet. If you taste sour, it's because you're eating too much back bacon.
  • savmac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0If I could only get my hands on some 'Magiculin" or some "Super Powerlins" I'd be set.
  • BlueBlade, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"@adml_shake I think i'll keep this batch for myself instead of my girlfriend if you get my drift."

    Shoota, I've tasted your gf... she's not as sour as you say... geesh! Some people are just picky.
  • KriLL3.2™, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Should be great to satisfy your sweet tooth without actually eating alot of calorie high + teeth murderin' sugar.
  • gnalakalaciath5, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0well, if it does that much to sour foods, i dread to think what would happen if you took it with a sweet food eg. Sugar. :P
  • CiXeL, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I also live in south florida (20 mins north of key largo) own one of these bushes and its producing berries like crazy at the moment.

    You can find more information on the wikipedia entry ive been working on over time here:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_fruit

    If you want more information than you've ever wanted to know about it you can check the very complete article written by my friend Donna Cannon here:
    http://quisqualis.com/mirfrtdmc1a.html

    you can buy inexpensive plants (its where i got mine) from this company in south florida called Pine Island Nursery
    http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/

    When my plant first started producing berries i ordered very sour fruit i could find in the grocery store. Limes taste like delicious candy though. Excellent way to eat the enamel off your teeth.
  • mateo60, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Cool! And I bet it only causes cancer. :)
    DIGG
    • simonnnomis, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1Actually, apparently it's very safe.
  • ungamedplayer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0There is a "miracle fruit" which does the same thing in Far North Queensland in Australia. I've seen it there growing wild, not quite sure if it is native though.
  • lotusleaf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Miracle fruit that makes everything sour taste sweet?"

    Why that's LINUX, of course! :)
  • bean, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Does it make you toot? Or was that the magical fruit?
  • fudged71, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@bean
    lol
  • Rudrasksha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I've had them and while they do work, they can make you feel abit sick after.

    From what I remember its more like it makes a lemon tast like Really good
    lemon aid.
  • green1152, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"I hate to be the one to mention this, but it could probably be effective in some husbandry duties.
    lol"

    Dang! I'm bookmarking this for when I get married! And I gotta try this with beer.
    • simonnnomis, on 04/29/2008, -0/+1I only makes good beer taste bad.
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