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Sweetener shenanigans that have gone on at the FDA: The Miracle Berry Conspiracy http://www.huffingtonpost.com/homaro-cantu/the-miracle-berry-conspir_b_3020765.

Sweetener shenanigans that have gone on at the FDA: The Miracle Berry Conspiracy http://www.huffingtonpost.com/homaro-cantu/the-miracle-berry-conspir_b_3020765.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/homaro-cantu/the-miracle-berry... http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-11-25/news/30440982_1_berries-sugar-industry-sugar-free http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-11-25/news... We might already have a better sweetener if it weren't for stuff like this.

tptacek 12y ago
Have you ever tried miracle berries? I have, in a demo they did for us at Cantu's restaurant. It's not a sweetener. It alters your sense of taste, for a fairly long period of time; it changes how everything tastes. It's really cool, and you should (if you haven't already) order some and play with them yourself. It's hard to see how they'd displace aspartame, though.
- Tomte 12y ago
  I've always wanted to try those, but at first I couldn't decide to order in some online shop, and next time I looked the shop had closed. I think they wrote something about not being allowed to sell miracle berries in the EU, because it was categorized as some dietary supplement or so, without the necessary certifications.
  - tptacek 12y ago
    The best way to think about them is that they "filter out" sourness, which you perceptually register as increased sweetness. It doesn't do much of anything to bitterness. Lemons and fresh tomatoes are two things that taste very different on miracle berries.
- fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
  Yes! I'm going to try to grow some this spring. I've just sent off for the seeds. I read somewhere an idea that people might formulate their food for a flavor that was complimentary to the effect of the miracle berry (Synsepalum dulcificum). I don't know how well that would work in practice, but it's an idea. I just want them because they're neat.

tptacek 12y ago

Have you ever tried miracle berries? I have, in a demo they did for us at Cantu's restaurant. It's not a sweetener. It alters your sense of taste, for a fairly long period of time; it changes how everything tastes. It's really cool, and you should (if you haven't already) order some and play with them yourself. It's hard to see how they'd displace aspartame, though.

Tomte 12y ago
I've always wanted to try those, but at first I couldn't decide to order in some online shop, and next time I looked the shop had closed. I think they wrote something about not being allowed to sell miracle berries in the EU, because it was categorized as some dietary supplement or so, without the necessary certifications.
- tptacek 12y ago
  The best way to think about them is that they "filter out" sourness, which you perceptually register as increased sweetness. It doesn't do much of anything to bitterness. Lemons and fresh tomatoes are two things that taste very different on miracle berries.
fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
Yes! I'm going to try to grow some this spring. I've just sent off for the seeds. I read somewhere an idea that people might formulate their food for a flavor that was complimentary to the effect of the miracle berry (Synsepalum dulcificum). I don't know how well that would work in practice, but it's an idea. I just want them because they're neat.