Comment by Dgetman | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Dgetman | Hacker News Reader

Hello HN! Palate Pal is a next-generation natural sweetener that not only sweetens foods, but also enhances flavor. It doesn't have any bitter/"chemical" aftertaste like all other alternative sweeteners and also a single serving will last you 30-60 minutes REGARDLESS of how much food you eat with it.

It is made from miracle fruit. This fruit has been used for centuries by tribes in Western Africa to make their food more delicious. It contains a protein that safely and temporarily binds to your tastebuds to make sour foods taste sweet as well as remove unpleasant bitter and tart flavors. For instance, bite into a lemon and it will taste like lemonade. It allows you to discover flavors previously masked by those unpleasant tastes. A strawberry tastes even more "strawberry" and a plain greek yogurt now tastes much more creamy.

It is the first miracle fruit product that is convenient for daily use. Whereas competing products take 5-10 minutes to dissolve, mine takes 10 seconds to dissolve and contains only NATURAL ingredients. I believe miracle fruit has the potential to take willpower out of the equation of a healthy diet by making nutritious foods taste as indulgent as the junk foods that are otherwise killing us. No one has the patience to wait 5 minutes in the morning while they are rushing to school or work, so I knew this is what needed to be changed in order for miracle berry to go mainstream.

Please check out my website for more information and demos. Use the code "HN" at checkout for 10% off.

Feel free to ask me anything!

I've heard about miracle fruit. Specifically, I've heard that the reason it's not already commercialized is, as you say, that it converts sour flavors to sweet -- leading people to overconsume acid (the cause of sourness) and take physical damage from the acid exposure. Miracle fruit can make you believe drinking a bottle of vinegar is a good idea, but it won't make it actually a good idea.

Have you heard of this? What are your thoughts? This sounds like willpower would still be an issue, but if you mess up you scar your throat / dissolve your teeth instead of gaining weight.

Hmm although I wouldn't recommend eating an entire lemon, lots of the foods that work well with miracle fruit you would already consume regularly - berries, greek yogurt, coffee, sauces, cocktails, etc. I use it everyday with greek yogurt mixed in with almond butter...very healthy but tastes sinfully like Reese's.

The main reason it hasn't been commercialized is that the fruit itself is very finicky. It took me a whole year to work out a procedure and formulation. Another company is working on bioengineering the active protein, and raised $6.9M 3 weeks ago so I wouldn't say all hope is lost in miracle fruit.

There is actually a really interesting conspiracy theory of how GD Searle broke into the offices and sabotaged the original company commercializing miracle fruit back in the 70's. You are right, they tried telling the FDA that miracle fruit would make kids drink battery acid, but that was all corporate BS because they were afraid of the competition it would bring - kids were enjoying miracle fruit sweetened popsicles more than regular popsicles.

I've bought it before on Amazon for fun party tricks, bar conversation and office colleagues break ice moments.

That's cute that someone pushed it to a further commercialized product, but it doesn't last for an hour, or close to five.

Would greatly appreciate your feedback on my product! If it doesn't last more than 5 minutes I'll venmo you your money back.

We source our product from the native soil where this berry grows. As you may know with wine, coffee, and tea, the soil and climate matters a lot. Moreover, our farmers take care to not overcrowd the trees to ensure each plant gets plenty of sunlight and nutrients. I've tried every product out there that exists, doesn't come close to our quality. Prove me wrong and I'll refund you.

> that it converts sour flavors to sweet

Does it? My experience tasting it, seemed more like a sour inhibitor. The sweet you tasted was what was left when the sour was removed. Turns out lemons are indeed sweet.

But that was merely my non-scientific, anecdotal impression.

I've spoken with the leading expert and it does indeed create the perception of sweetness where there once was not. The enhanced sweetness, however does inhibit the bitterness and enhances flavor. That is why you begin to pick up flavors you previously did not in something like a strawberry, tea, or IPA.

No offense toward your product (good luck!), but one of my pet peeves is marketing “NATURAL ingredients” like it’s automatically good for you. A lot of natural ingredients can kill you or make you very sick. I mean, tobacco is a NATURAL ingredient, too.

Fair. I think the main thing I'm trying to emphasize here is that this crazy thing is found in nature not some chemical shit made in a lab. Also a lot of my competitors put chemicals in their products for flavor and consistency and I tried really hard to keep it natural.

Yeah, dog shit and cyanide are natural too!

Oh man you caught me there. Truly a legendary response XD

You say that it doesn't have an aftertaste, but sound proud that it will impact your sense of taste for 30-60 minutes. That's worse, IMO. I like sour, tart and bitter flavors, and would be quite annoyed by this.

Also, many toxic products contain Bitrex as a safety measure. Brush it off now, but if your product ends up in foods marketed to kids, get ready for a shitstorm.

Lots of people don't like stevia, monk fruit, sucralose, etc because of its aftertaste. Due to the unique mechanism of the miracle fruit (indirectly activating your tastebuds instead of directly), it does not have a weird taste. The fact that it is as close to tasting like sugar without having calories is a game changer for many.

The product is not for everyone. It definitely has that novelty feel of "oh shit I can't believe how this lemon tastes" but not everyone is going to use it constantly. Everyone has their preferences and while you may like sour, others might gag at the taste of greek yogurt. If this can make people eat healthy foods they otherwise wouldn't eat, I'd be overjoyed.

I see what you mean by the bitter compound Bitrex. It is something for me to think about on how to ensure kids don't abuse it. The upside for parents of picky eaters is huge though. My nephew used to only eat noodles and chicken nuggets but now with my product he eats greek yogurt, tomatoes, broccoli, soup, fish, fruit, etc. It is no longer a chore for my sister to get him to eat his food. All he says is "I'll only have it with Palate Pal" :)

Is this the fruit?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum

Yes!!!

Maybe you can cross this fruit with a Durian :)

Have not tried. Let me know what you think :)

I'd like to try more exotic fruits. Passionfruit is absolutely addictive with Palate Pal. I did a taste test with a friend and she was chowing down on it like popcorn.

This might be something to add to the FAQ page - what is the legal/regulatory status of your product?

Good suggestion! It is safe and, in fact, Coca Cola ran a toxicology test less than a year ago and said there are no possible long-term side effects. Moreover, a study in 1974 fed rats 30,000x what a human would normally eat daily and found no side effects across multiple generations!!!

It is approved in Europe and Asia. In the US, however, due to dirty sabotage in the 70's by sugar and aspartame companies, the FDA decided to approve it as a food additive and not food. One company is working on that approval now though.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S02786....

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