Hacker News Reader

Comment by thaumasiotes | Hacker News Reader

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.

View on HN

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.

> 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.

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.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com