Two nights ago I drank vinegar like it was soda, sucked lemons like lollipops, and gnawed on raw rhubarb. I voluntarily drank plain hot sauce and couldn’t get enough of normally bitter blackberries. Was this a dream? Have my taste buds gone dormant? Was I on drugs?

No. What I was on is referred to by many as a food trip, a journey made possible by a small, red, berry called Miracle Fruit, or Synsepalum dulcificum.

Thanks to a donation of 20 frozen Miracle Fruit berries from a company called Miracle Fruit Man, I was able to invite a group of curious food lovers to Adam’s house for a tasting party.

The photo below is courtesy of Relish Austin:

Playing a role similar to Willy Wonka, I dropped the tiny frozen berries into the mouths of my guests, instructing them to roll it around for a minute, scrape the pulp off the seed, and spit out the seed when done.

A natural protein called miraculin binds to the tongue and causes an effect that lasts about a half hour. When combined with acid, the sugar molecules press into the sweet receptors and foods that are normally acidic and sour become sweet.

The berry was first documented by an European explorer during a 1725 excursion to West Africa. He watched the local tribes pick the berry from shrubs and chew on it before meals.

In the 21st Century, the spread we laid out was definitely the most unique I’ve ever seen. We pulled the suggested foods from a list laid out by The Miracle Man for food tripping parties. This included:

Goat Cheese – Tasted like cheese cake
Rhubarb – Tasted like apples
Guinness with lemon juice – Tasted like flat soda
Roasted Brussels sprouts – No change to me. I enjoy them though.
Salt & Vinegar Chips – Tasted like plain chips
Oranges and grapefruit – Like candy
Unsweetened chocolate – like earth
Broccoli with lemon juice – delicious
Lemon Wedges – Amazing!
Straight Vinegar – Like fruit soda
Pineapple/Grapes/Blackberries – Sweet and addictive
Granny Smith Apples – These still tasted tart to me -- maybe the berry was wearing off?
Hot Sauce – sweet and hot
Jalapeno and Lemon potato chips – great

Some “treats” I didn’t get to try include: ketchup, currants, tonic water, garlic cloves, natural yogurt, olives, lettuce, tomato, radish, homemade mustard, sour cream, salads with lemon juice.

Faves: Vinegar, lemons, goat cheese.

So I came down with a pretty bad tummy ache yesterday as a result of eating all of these strange and acidic foods together. I actually have two berries left and would be happy to share with a couple readers if anyone is brave and curious enough to give food tripping a try.

Check out Addie Broyles blog and the slide show below (only shows on the web) for more!