Miracle fruit

What it is

Miracle fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum, is an oval berry about 2–3 cm (¾–1¼ in) long. Green fruit turns scarlet as it ripens. Beneath the red skin, a layer of white pulp wraps around one large seed. The pulp carries miraculin, the protein responsible for the change in taste; the seed takes up much of the berry.

Where it comes from

The shrub comes from tropical West and Central Africa, including Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. There, mature bushes give two large crops a year, each after a rainy season, with a few fruits hanging all year round.

It is also grown in southern Florida. Miracle Fruit Farm, a family farm in the Redlands southwest of Miami, grows fresh berries and makes fruit products from them.

How it's eaten where it grows

In its African home, the berry has been used to make palm wine taste sweeter. The fruit works in the mouth: its pulp coats the tongue before the sour food or drink follows.

In the US, freeze-dried berry cubes offer the same tasting sequence. A cube dissolves on the tongue before a sour fruit, vinegar dressing or tomato sauce. Citrus still keeps its lemon or lime aroma even as its sour taste gives way to sweetness.

How it's grown

Miracle fruit grows slowly into an evergreen shrub with small, creamy-white flowers. Partial shade and well-drained acidic soil suit it, and it does well in a container. In southern Florida, healthy plants can begin bearing in their third year. The berries turn from green to red as they ripen.

When and where you'll find it

Miracle Fruit Farm produces fruit year-round in the Redlands southwest of Miami, with an online shop and collection at the farm. Miami Fruit offers cubes made by blending Florida-grown berries, pouring them into moulds and freeze-drying them. Fresh berries keep only briefly; freezing and freeze-drying preserve the taste-changing effect for later use.