Flavour Tripping
by Ann Bartkowski
During meeting last Friday, Gabriel made us chew this herb that I cannot remember the name of. It binded to our sugar receptors and temporarily eliminated our abilities to taste sweetness. Consequently, when I ate a caramel corn-flavoured jelly bean, it tasted like I was chewing a chunk of pure butter, and I had to spit it out in disgust.
This experience reminded me of an article I read last year in the NYTimes about flavour tripping on this so-called miracle fruit Synsepalum dulcificum. A protein in this fruit apparently rewires your sweet receptors so that they temporarily identify acids as sugars. Here’s a link to the article, if you wanna read it.
I like the video, as well…especially when the dude admits to the girl that he was just sipping on vinegar. Furthermore, there appears to be the possibility of a scandalous conspiracy involving the FDA, the miracle fruit researchers (who want to market miracle fruit foods to diabetics as well as the general public), and the sugar, and sugar-substitute companies who might have a lot to lose. In bind taste tests, people have chosen the taste of things like popsicles that are flavoured with miracle fruit over the taste of sweets made of real sugar.
I can’t remember who it was, but I was talking to one of the Explainers or Explainer Managers last year who had tried it. And I really want to as well. So I signed up to be invited to a flavour-tripping party when they are in SF. I got this email back from LiveInFear@streetwars.net:
“Thanks for your interest in FlavorTripping. We will let you know if an event is arriving in your town. Thanks! Mustache Commander”
You should probably start being really nice to me if you want to be chosen as my date to the party.
CSI:NY did an episode recently about this in which a woman was poisoned with Borax at a Flavor Tripping party because she was unable to taste it. Beware evil flavor-tripping murderers!
I’m glad you read my post Nina! Thanks to you, I will be sure to bring a date who is prepared to be on the look-out for potential poisoners at my flavour-tripping party. Apparently, these parties really make it possible for roofie-ing to go to a whole new level.
I like that CSI was creative with their plot, but it doesn’t sound very plausible to me. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought Borax was basic, and that miraculin only made acids taste sweet. Isn’t Borax alkaline, so how would that work?
Can someone explain this to me? I don’t want to have to learn it the hands-on way this time…
I’m the mother flippin flava tripper. Lemons are the best, followed by peppermint Schnapps. I’ve got a shipment of miracle berry pills arriving next month so I can eat that monster sour ball from the Mind movie. Hey kids, don’t do drugs. Stay in school.