Synsepalum dulcificum - It is called miracle fruit because after sucking on the flesh of the fruit, all things sour taste sweet. The fruits have been used in tasting parties with lots of sour fruits available to try before and after eating the miracle fruit. Fruits have been used by diabetics and patients whose tastes have been altered by chemotherapy, masking the metallic taste caused by medications. Miraculin is the glycoprotein which causes this taste transformation. The fruit is also reported to be very high in antioxidants.
This is a bush we purchased two years ago. It has produced over a hundred fruit this year. We water it with rain water.
After eating the fruit, we plant the seeds around the base of the bush. Once the seedlings have 3-5 leaves, we move them to their own pots. The seedling on the left is a few months old. The plant on the right is close to a year old.
To use - The miracle fruit flesh needs to coat your tongue in order to have an effect, so don’t just quickly swallow the fruit. Bite into the fruit and make sure the tiny amount of flesh coats your whole tongue. You can cut carefully to remove the seed prior to eating and just suck on the small amount of flesh, but using your teeth to separate the flesh from the seed is sometimes helpful.
To plant - place seed in a pot of wet peat moss with the possible addition of perlite. Place saucer under pot with water. Try to use rain water or reverse osmosis water. Keep in a warm, sunny spot. The plants cannot handle freezing temperatures. The plants are slow growing, but once established, will provide many fruits. Do not use commercial fertilizers or water with chlorine. Blood meal is an acceptable fertilizer. Be sure to keep the soil moist at all times.
We have fruit and seedlings available throughout most of the year.
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