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What fruit creates a taste illusion?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

March 4, 2004

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The miracle or miraculous fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum Daniell ex S. Bell) is a large evergreen shrub in the Sapotaceae, the sapodilla family. The shrub is native to tropical West Africa where it is variously called taami, ledidi, and asaa. The leaves are leathery and four to six inches long with eight pairs of lateral or side veins. The white flowers are small and borne in clusters in the axils (angle between the stem and the leaf) of the leaves. Oval, fleshy, tasteless, single-seeded, red berries follow flowering. The berries contain a unique glycoprotein, miraculin.

The human tongue detects chemicals by certain taste signatures--acids (sour), sugars (sweet), salts, alkaloids (bitter and often poisonous), and amino acids (meaty taste of proteins, umami).

The sensors for these tastes, taste buds, are in clusters on the taste papillae, the individual 'bumps' on the tongue. Fungiform papillae (sweet) are at the front of the tongue, foliate papillae (sour)
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A toddler and her father stick their tongues out at each other
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are on the sides, and circumvallate papillae (bitter) are at the back.

The taste buds cannot taste chemicals they are not designed to taste--sweet sensors cannot taste alkaloids, nor can salt sensors taste acids, acid sensors cannot taste sweets and the like. Flavors are a combination of individual tastes plus aromas, textures, and temperatures. And heredity makes a huge difference in what an individual interprets as flavor.

Miraculin creates a 'taste illusion'. As the berry is chewed, the miraculin spreads over the tongue. The molecules bind to sites on the fungiform papillae near the sweet taste buds. For the next 30 to 60 minutes, any acidic foods like lemons, limes, and vinegar taste mildly sour, but they have an added sweetness. In the presence of an acidic food, the miraculin molecule activates the sweet taste bud. The sweet taste bud can only present the brain with the 'illusion' that it has tasted something sweet.*

(Compiled from: A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman, Vintage Books, 1991; "Sweet taste induced by miracle fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum), LM Bartoshuk, RL Gentile, HR Moskowitz, and HL Meiselman, Physiology and Behavior, 1974; "Miracle Fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum" California Rare Fruit Growers Association; "Complete purification and characterization of the taste-modifying protein, miraculin, from the miracle fruit", S. Theerasilp and Y. Kurihara, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Aug 1988)

Tim Jacob with the Cardiff University School of Biosciences has a great tutorial, "The Physiology of Taste". To learn more about the ability to taste, click on the link:

http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staff/jacob/teaching/sensory/taste.html

*If you try miracle fruit, do not eat too many acidic foods. The acid is still there and can give you an upset stomach and a sore mouth.

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Comments: A hardy annual. Has white, daisy-like areas. Apple-scented, German strain. Parts used: flowers. Companion plant with onions and cabbage.

Sweet Leaf Plant

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

The Natural Sugar Substitute

Glossy foliage just 10 inches tall, sprinkled with snowy flowers.

Dried leaves are 300 times sweeter than sugar.

Bring in for the winter.

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Zones: 9 - 10 (30° F.)

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Comments: 300 times sweeter than sugar. Treat as a houseplant in winter. However, it can be set outside during the summer months.

Harvest at end of season. Leaves are sweetest when mature and temperatures are around 60 degrees F. Sweetener is best extracted by soaking dried leaves in boiling water, squeezing them dry, and removing them. Liquid can be stored in refrigerator and used as needed. Dried leaves are approxmately 10 times sweeter than an equivalent weight of sugar (1/2 gram of dried leaves equals 5 grams of sugar)

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Sweet Shrub

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Highly Fragrant Flowers and Foliage!

Grown since Colonial times, also called Carolina Allspice.

Grows 6-9 ft. tall with deep burgundy late-spring blooms. Sweet Shrub has a heavenly fragrance similar to strawberries. Thrives in sun or partial shade.

Zones: 4 - 9 (-20° F.)

Comments: Easily worked into any design. Easily transplanted. Native shrub. Trouble/disease/pest free. Click here - $20 off your first order at Gurneys!

Flowering shrubs are bargains in beauty. They produce a profusion of flowers and foliage- a feast for or senses- and seem equally attractive to birds, butterflies and hummingbirds. Even when they’re not in bloom, many add interest to the landscape. Shrubs grow fast, last nearly forever and require a minimum care. Click here to view more Shrubs, Hedges & Grasses - $20 off your first order at Gurneys!

Fragrant Citrus Combo

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Flowers and Fragrance, Too!

Evergreen foliage, sweetly scented flowers and edible fruit all in one! Can be moved outdoors in summer, so the bees take care of pollination for you.

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Dwarf Key Lime
Dwarf Meyer Lemon
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Pick citrus in 1-3 years.

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Comments: Four hours or more of direct sunlight from a south window. Let plant approach dryness before watering. Average indoor humidity levels. Day temperature 65-70 degrees F; night temperature 50-55 degrees F. Use an acid-balanced fertilizer throughout the year and add trace elements in spring. Leaves will drop if soil is too wet or too dry. High pH or high soluble salts can cause leaf yellowing. Will not bloom if light is too low. May need to hand pollinate for better fruit production.

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Lemon Grass

Springhill Nursery®

Elegant, grass-like blades have an exquisite lemony scent you'll love.

The lemon-flavored leaves (rarely found at the market) are a delightful addition to fish, teas and Asian dishes.

Grows 3' tall and 1' across-ideal for a patio pot!

Move Lemon Grass indoors for winter.

Shipped in 3" pot. Deer tend to avoid.

Cymbopogon citratus Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery!

Coffee Plant

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Grow Your Own Beans!

Compact, 4-ft. plants with glossy leaves bear scented white blooms followed by scarlet fruits.

Prefers filtered sunlight.

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Zones: 9 - 10 (30° F.)

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Comments: Species is the major source of best quality coffee. Very easy to grow. Coffee beans are the seeds of the plants pulpy fruit. Variety stays dwarf, up to 4 feet tall.

Apply half strength fertilizer every other week. Pollinate by hand to ensure fruit set. Water twice a week and mist regularly. Will not produce fruit for 3-4 years.

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