Have you ever taken a bite out of a raw onion or eaten a lemon, unfazed by the bitterness? These are just some of the things that the miracle fruit makes possible.
The miracle fruit originates from West Africa and contains a glycoprotein called Miraculin. Miraculin bonds to the mouth’s taste buds causing sour and bitter foods to taste sweet. While the berry is from West Africa, it is grown in Florida by Curtis Mozie, better known as the “miracle fruit man.”
Mozie first came across the berry by accident when he went to a nursery to look for a fruit he remembers eating as a child. It was called a hog plum tree. The nursery did not have that plant, but instead introduced him to the miracle fruit.
Mozie has been growing the miracle fruit for 12 years on over 10 acres of land in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“Everyone is involved; my children, my grandkids, even my neighbor who doesn’t speak to me,” Mozie said.
Due to increased media attention, the popularity of the miracle fruit has grown significantly since early 2007 when the Wall Street Journal first reported on the fruit. In May of 2008, The New York Times published an article called “A Tiny Fruit That Tricks the Tongue.” The article created so much buzz the fruit was back ordered for three months in June of last year.
“Before the New York Times article, I had been selling the fruit online for a year,” Mozie said.
The day after the article was published, Mozie noticed a staggering change.
“The first few hours, we received about 8,000 dollars worth of orders. We had 20,000 dollars by the end of the day and 60,000 dollars in the next two days,” Mozie said.
In the 1970’s an attempt was made to commercialize Miraculin, but the FDA would not approve products containing the protein. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, many people including Robert Harvey, founder of The Miralin Company, a major producer of miraculin based products believe that the sugar industry played a role in the FDA’s denial.
“[Miraculin] would have probably replaced 50 percent of the sugar industry,” Mozie said.
Despite the FDA’s denial, people were and still are fascinated by the berry. Parties called “flavor tripping” parties have emerged as a way to let people taste and experience the berry. The effects on the taste buds vary on the size of an individual’s mouth, but usually last from 30 minutes to three hours.
“You need to eat the skin and juice. In order to get the full effect, remove the seeds after you first bite into it,” Mozie said.
In the scientific community, there has been discussion about its benefits for diabetics and cancer patients.
“As far as diabetics, if you are not supposed to have sugar and you want something sweet; you can take some water and lemonade, eat a miracle fruit and it will satisfy your craving for sweetness,” Mozie said.
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy routinely experience side effects. One of those is a metallic taste in the mouth. The miracle berry may be able to eliminate this taste and stimulate appetite for these cancer patients. There is no conclusive evidence of this at this time.
“There is a cancer research in Tampa, Fla. I sent them some of the fruit; some of [the patients] stated that it helped, some of them stated that it did not,” Mozie explained.
The miracle fruit takes three years to grow from seed to harvest in the United States and bears fruit all year round. In Africa, it takes five years and only bears fruit twice a year because there are only two rainy seasons.
While its origins are in Africa and its harvester in Florida, anyone can grow the miracle fruit.
“You can put it in a container and grow it, and it makes a great container plant,” Mozie said. “I guess God wanted everyone to have one.”
The miracle fruit originates from West Africa and contains a glycoprotein called Miraculin. Miraculin bonds to the mouth’s taste buds causing sour and bitter foods to taste sweet. While the berry is from West Africa, it is grown in Florida by Curtis Mozie, better known as the “miracle fruit man.”
Mozie first came across the berry by accident when he went to a nursery to look for a fruit he remembers eating as a child. It was called a hog plum tree. The nursery did not have that plant, but instead introduced him to the miracle fruit.
Mozie has been growing the miracle fruit for 12 years on over 10 acres of land in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“Everyone is involved; my children, my grandkids, even my neighbor who doesn’t speak to me,” Mozie said.
Due to increased media attention, the popularity of the miracle fruit has grown significantly since early 2007 when the Wall Street Journal first reported on the fruit. In May of 2008, The New York Times published an article called “A Tiny Fruit That Tricks the Tongue.” The article created so much buzz the fruit was back ordered for three months in June of last year.
“Before the New York Times article, I had been selling the fruit online for a year,” Mozie said.
The day after the article was published, Mozie noticed a staggering change.
“The first few hours, we received about 8,000 dollars worth of orders. We had 20,000 dollars by the end of the day and 60,000 dollars in the next two days,” Mozie said.
In the 1970’s an attempt was made to commercialize Miraculin, but the FDA would not approve products containing the protein. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, many people including Robert Harvey, founder of The Miralin Company, a major producer of miraculin based products believe that the sugar industry played a role in the FDA’s denial.
“[Miraculin] would have probably replaced 50 percent of the sugar industry,” Mozie said.
Despite the FDA’s denial, people were and still are fascinated by the berry. Parties called “flavor tripping” parties have emerged as a way to let people taste and experience the berry. The effects on the taste buds vary on the size of an individual’s mouth, but usually last from 30 minutes to three hours.
“You need to eat the skin and juice. In order to get the full effect, remove the seeds after you first bite into it,” Mozie said.
In the scientific community, there has been discussion about its benefits for diabetics and cancer patients.
“As far as diabetics, if you are not supposed to have sugar and you want something sweet; you can take some water and lemonade, eat a miracle fruit and it will satisfy your craving for sweetness,” Mozie said.
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy routinely experience side effects. One of those is a metallic taste in the mouth. The miracle berry may be able to eliminate this taste and stimulate appetite for these cancer patients. There is no conclusive evidence of this at this time.
“There is a cancer research in Tampa, Fla. I sent them some of the fruit; some of [the patients] stated that it helped, some of them stated that it did not,” Mozie explained.
The miracle fruit takes three years to grow from seed to harvest in the United States and bears fruit all year round. In Africa, it takes five years and only bears fruit twice a year because there are only two rainy seasons.
While its origins are in Africa and its harvester in Florida, anyone can grow the miracle fruit.
“You can put it in a container and grow it, and it makes a great container plant,” Mozie said. “I guess God wanted everyone to have one.”
