Miracle Berry Flavor Tripping Party
I had heard of "miracle berry" - the fruit that turns sour foods sweet - several years back. The idea seemed pretty neat, but I never got around to ordering it. Then recently, I saw on some online forum that people were talking about having these "flavor tripping" parties with miracle berries (I know, seems a little out there, but I think this "tripping" is a good trip), so I ordered a packet from Amazon. It was about $15 for 10 tablets, so it wasn't cheap, but I thought it would be fun to finally try it.
Mberry Tablets
Right, so I switched from the word "berry" to tablets. The reason is that the actually miracle berry only lasts about 2-3 days, and there was no way I could get the actual fruit shipped to me. I believe the fruit originated from west Africa, but I know they grow them in Asia and I guess places with very warm and humid climates. Anyhow, the mberry company turned the fruit into powder and along with some cornstarch, made it into convenient tablets you can carry with you.
Foods to Try!
So what you actually do is before stuffing you mouth with all the sour foods you can possibly find in your kitchen, you put the tablet on your tongue and let it dissolve - moving it around so that your entire tongue gets coated. The actual tablet tastes pretty good. It has a light berry flavor - not too sweet, not to sour (obviously, I guess). It takes about 1-2 minutes to get the thing dissolved. Then, right away, I start just stuffing my mouth with all the foods I had on my table - rhubarb, lemon, lime, pineapples, and strawberry. Heck, I even took a shot of straight vinegar, and let me tell you, it was GOOD...well, SWEET. The best thing had to be eating lemons. It was like biting lemonade - if that makes sense, and it was delicious. I noticed the effects starting to wear off after 5-10 minutes, but I think it was because I continuously ate during that time.
Checklist of Foods to Review
You'll see gin in the picture, and I actually had things like hot sauce and beer as well. I have to say that the mberry tablets didn't do much for things that are actually bitter. Gin still tasted like gin, and I think it was because there was no citrus in it to make it sweet (my mistake). For spicy things like hot sauce, I think the sauce may have tasted slightly more sweet maybe because it was tomato-based, but in general, spicy things still tasted spicy. So really, the miracle berry works best with sour flavors. If you are to have something bitter or spicy, make sure there is some sort of acid in there as well, which may help to mitigate some of the strong flavors.
Thoughts for the Potential of the Miracle Berry
- There have been no negative side effects reported with the miracle berry. It's really just a fruit. In fact, the berry has been used to aid patients with diabetes in Japan and have also been used with patients on chemotherapy, who lose their appetite due to effects on their taste buds.
- The way to use the miracle berry is to pair it with something acidic. The berry itself does not replace sugar because it only makes sour things sweet. So if you think about lemonade for example, someone who may not be able to have a ton of sugar could have some lemon juice with water, and potentially, have the same experience as someone who is having actual lemonade with all the additional sugar added.
- If you go a step beyond that, someone could totally make a tablet containing powdered miracle berry and perhaps a coated acid that would only be activated in the presence of something like a liquid. That way, you actually do have a sugar substitute. If you're into baking, the idea is kind of similar to baking powder, which is sort of like baking soda mixed with an acid and is activated with liquid and heat. I personally think the miracle berry sweetens better than other natural alternatives like stevia, which can taste bitter. Anyways, I hope you all get the opportunity to try this. It's really quite fun and if you're really into food, a miracle berry "flavor tripping" party is definitely worth having.