Contents
In this article you will learn, among others:
- How does a fruit that changes taste work?
- Are there any flavor changing pills?
- Is the flavor changing tablet safe?
- Can I buy flavor-changing fruits?
Facilitates the diet
Imagine a situation where you are on a diet and you miss sweets. You want to feel this intensely sweet taste on your tongue, but at the same time you do not want to disrupt your diet and add unnecessary calories to it, and the fruit seems too sweet for you. And this is where the miraculous fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum) will come to the rescue, which will sweeten your life without providing any additional calories!
How does a fruit that changes taste work?
How is this possible?
The miraculin contained in it blocks the receptors of bitter and sour tastes on the tongue, which completely changes the taste of the consumed products. Even products that we cannot imagine eating alone, such as vinegar and lemon, turn sweet like hard candy! All this is due to the inconspicuous glycoprotein, which is tasteless and odorless but has the miraculous power to transform the taste of other foods.
Amazing experiences
The effects can be various, because it all depends on what we eat, but the principle is still one: almost everything takes on a sweet taste. Sour cherries become sweet like cherries, usually beer tastes like beer with juice, bitter grapefruit is sweet like orange. On one of the forums, however, I found information that it does not work for all products because, for example, bread or salmon lose a bit of their flavor. Most of the products, however, make a stunning impression.
How to eat and how long does it take?
Although miraculin can be classified as a sweetener, it is not added directly to a product or a dish, as is done with other sweeteners. Here the fruit of sweet synsepal is chewed slowly before the start of the meal in such a way that the fruit touches as much surface of the tongue as possible. It is then swallowed, and you can wait a minute or two, then start your cooking experiments!
Unfortunately, the effect only lasts from 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending on what we eat and drink. In addition, it is easy to get rid of by drinking warm tea, because miraculin, like any other protein, is sensitive to high temperatures. However, this can be an advantage for people who will not like the effect of consuming miraculin.
Is the flavor changing tablet safe?
So far, no adverse effects associated with the consumption of miraculin have been demonstrated, and moreover, the miraculous fruit has been shown to be rich in polyphenols, which play an important role in the prevention and treatment of various diseases. In addition, studies show that it can be helpful for patients undergoing chemotherapy, because miraculin can reduce the metallic taste in the mouth that accompanies such people. But let’s not forget about the other side of the coin. If we experiment with flavors and after eating a miracle fruit we start eating, for example, vinegar, lemon or garlic, our body may repay us in the form of indigestion, heartburn and abdominal pain.
Best of sweeteners?
Perhaps miraculin could become the best sweetener, but unfortunately, due to the high cost of production, most potential producers preferred not to produce it for these purposes. Japan is the only country where it is used in this way. There, miraculin was approved not only as a food additive, but also as a dietary supplement.
Can I buy flavor-changing fruits?
Sweet synsepal grows in West Africa and has long been used there as a flavor enhancer for consumed meals. Currently, the miracle fruit is also grown commercially in Florida, Taiwan and Ghana. However, it is most often used in Japan, where there is a network of cafes where you can try this miracle fruit. After consuming it, you can order a dish with little calories and enjoy its great taste. For this reason, only dishes with no more than 100 kcal are served there, e.g. lemon cake without sugar. In the United States and Great Britain, this fruit is more often used as a method of having fun. He is the king of flavor experimentation parties.
Are there any flavor changing pills?
Where to buy
Unfortunately, buying a miracle fruit is very difficult in Poland. This is because the fruit has the status of novel food in the European Union, which means that a safety assessment must be carried out first and then it can be placed on the market. For now, however, nothing is happening in this direction. Therefore, if we want to buy it, we have to use Allegro or eBay. Unfortunately, the price is quite high and you can only buy it in the form of tablets. One tablet costs about PLN 9, and an entire package containing 10 tablets costs PLN 69. Of course, you need to add shipping costs. Therefore, it would be difficult to introduce this fruit into your diet permanently.
However, how do you think it is worth spending so much money to experiment and have fun? Did you know there is a flavor changing tablet?
Main photo: Photo credit: justgrimes / Foter / CC BY-SA
Photo 1: Photo credit: scott.zona / Foter / CC BY