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Miracle Fruit FAQ |
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Have a question about Miracle
Fruit? Email me at
webmaster@magicalfruit.com and I'll add it to this page. |
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Questions:
Click on a question to jump directly to the answer:
1. What is a
Miracle Fruit?
2. How does a Miracle Fruit change how things taste?
3. Where do Miracle Fruit come from?
4. Where can I get Miracle Fruit, or Miracle Fruit plants?
5. Why haven't most people heard of Miracle Fruit?
6. Can I grow my own Miracle Fruit?
7. Are Miracle Fruit legal to grow in the USA?
8. Are Miracle Fruit safe to eat? |
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1.
What is a Miracle Fruit?
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to top)
Miracle Fruit, or
Synsepalum Dulcificum, is a plant found mainly in Africa.
Miracle Fruit is also the name for the berries grown on the plant.
These berries are also known as Miracle Berry, Magic Berry, Magical
Fruit, and Flavor Berry. They were first documented in 1725 by the
explorer Chevalier des Marchais. You can read more information about
Miracle Fruit on my History page. |
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2. How
does a Miracle Fruit change how things taste?
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to top)
Miracle Fruit contain
a substance called Miraculin, which is not sweet tasting by itself,
but it alters a persons taste buds to the point that it makes sour
things taste sweet. Miraculin is a glycoprotein consisting of 191
amino acids and some carbohydrate chains. This glycoprotein is a
"macro molecule", with a molecular weight of 44/000. When the
glycoprotein coats the taste buds, it causes the sweet taste bud
receptors to fire when they encounter sour foods, and the brain is
tricked into thinking that the sour food is a sweet food. The effect
can last anywhere from 30 minutes to about two hours. Eating more
than one fruit does not make the effect stronger. |
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3.
Where do Miracle Fruit come from?
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to top)
Miracle Fruit are
indigenous to Africa, but over the past several hundred years they
have slowly made their way around the globe. You can find more
information on my History page. |
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4.
Where can I get Miracle Fruit, or Miracle Fruit plants?
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to top)
Miracle Fruit berries
and plants are fairly hard to find in the USA. Most places that sell
them always seem to be sold out. I've found sellers in Thailand, The
Philippines, England, and here in the States in Hawaii, Florida,
California, and Texas. I've purchased plants from Florida and
Hawaii, the ones from Florida were in terrible condition, the Hawaii
ones were incredible, you can read about them on my
Blog. You can also find berries and plants
on Ebay, but you'll pay a hefty price for them, and some of the
plants I've seen that sell for over $200.00 don't look very good. |
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5. Why
haven't most people heard of Miracle Fruit?
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to top)
In the mid 1970's,
millions of dollars was spent to prove that Miracle Fruit was safe
to eat. Several entrepreneurs were at the verge of creating a new
industry, and at the last moment, the FDA refused to give approval
for using Miracle Fruit as a food additive. Several companies lost
millions of dollars and went out of business, and that was pretty
much the end of mass production of Miracle Fruit in the USA. |
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6. Can
I grow my own Miracle Fruit?
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to top)
Absolutely. Once you
find some plants, you just need to take care of them correctly, and
you'll be able to grow your own berries. Check out my
Growing Tips page for information, and my
Blog to see how my plants are doing. You'll
have better luck in the hotter states, like Florida and Texas. I'm
in New Jersey, and here, a greenhouse is a must, especially in the
winter. |
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7. Are
Miracle Fruit legal to grow in the USA?
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to top)
Miracle Fruit are
legal to grow and sell in the USA, because the FDA doesn't require
prior approval to sell fresh fruits, though it can intercede if it
suspects problems. Miracle Fruit can NOT be sold as a food additive,
so growing them on a grand scale as an artificial sweetener is not
possible. |
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8. Are
Miracle Fruit safe to eat?
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to top)
Miracle Fruit are
perfectly safe to eat. Years ago, several entrepreneurs tried to get
approval from the FDA to use Miracle Fruit as an artificial
sweetener, and they went through years of testing. From reports I've
read, test animals that were fed Miracle Fruit berries for extended
periods ended up healthier than the control animals who ate none.
I've also read that back in the 1960's, there was a guy trying to
start a business selling Miracle Fruit seeds. One man was
responsible for getting the seeds from the berries, and he ate 100
berries at a time to clean them. After eating countless thousands of
the berries over the years, the man was perfectly healthy.
I have not found any
evidence of a person being allergic to Miracle Fruit, though I'm
guessing that it is always possible. If anyone reading this has any
experience with allergies to Miracle Fruit, or can find anything
online about it, please email me with the details at
webmaster@magicalfruit.com.
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That's all the Q&A's I
have so far, email me your questions at
webmaster@magicalfruit.com. |
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