When I say "miracle", I'm not referring to the alleged acts of minor divinity that fill up your SPAM box (pushy bastards).
According to NYT and Wikipedia, all it takes is a single specimen of Synsepalum dulcificum, AKA the Miracle Berry, and everything tasted thereafter is sweeter:
The berry...contains an active glycoprotein molecule, with some trailing carbohydrate chains, called miraculin. When the fleshy part of the fruit is eaten, this molecule binds to the tongue's taste buds, causing bitter and sour foods (such as lemons and limes) consumed later to taste sweet. This effect lasts between thirty minutes and two hours. It is not a sweetener, as its effects depend on what is eaten afterwards, but has been used to mask the bitter taste of some medicines.
--Wikipedia
Sooo, in this temporarily altered microuniverse of the tongue, Tobasco sauce tastes like "hot doughnut glaze" and "all wine tastes like Manischewitz":
A large group of guests reached its own consensus: limes were candied, vinegar resembled apple juice, goat cheese tasted like cheesecake on the tongue and goat cheese on the throat. Bananas were just bananas.
--NYT
And of course, jaded urbanites in London and New York have jumped all over the chance to monkey with their palates.
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