Miracle berry

What is Miracle Fruit?
Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum  http://goo.gl/oeVXp5  ), sometimes known as the Miracle Berry, is a plant native to West Africa known for its berry that, when eaten, causes sour foods (such as lemons and limes) subsequently consumed to taste sweet. 

Miracle Fruit contains a glycoprotein called miraculin, which binds to the tongue’s taste buds when the fruit is consumed. Miraculin acts as a sweetness inducer when it comes in contact with acids, causing bitter and sour foods to taste sweet, temporarily. This effect usually lasts between 30 minutes and 2 hours.

The berry has been used in West Africa since at least the 18th century, when European explorer the Chevalier des Marchais provided an account of its use there. Marchais, who was searching West Africa for many different fruits in a 1725 excursion, noticed that local people picked the berry from shrubs and chewed it before meals.

In the 1970s in the USA, an attempt was made to commercialize the fruit for its ability to turn unsweet foods into sweet foods without a caloric penalty, but ended in failure when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified the berry as a food additive.

It is a shrub that grows between 6 to 15 feet in height and has dense foliage. Its leaves are 5–10 cm long, 2-3.7 cm wide and glabrous below. They are clustered at the ends of the branchlets. The flowers are white. It carries red, 2 cm long fruits. Each fruit contains one seed.

Miracle Fruit is available in three forms: The actual berries (which are usually frozen due to their high perishability), freeze-dried fruit granules, and miracle fruit tablets.

Consumption: 
Berries: Put one berry in your mouth and gently scrape the fleshy part off the seed. Swirl this around your mouth for 2 minutes before swallowing.
Freeze-Dried Granules: Place approximately 1 gram of the granules in your mouth and let them slowly dissolve on and around your tongue. Wait at least one minute before swallowing.
Tablets: Place one tablet in your mouth and gently swirl it around with your tongue until dissolved.