From our man in Sarasota, Justin Richards:
Before some friends and I tried flavor tripping for the first time, I’ll admit I had some unrealistic expectations. I thought the newly popularized miracle fruit would make my palate go temporarily insane; olives would taste like licorice, rice would taste like pudding, soap would taste like marmalade. We’d be licking the ambrosial sweat from each other’s armpits!
This past weekend, a friend from Ft. Lauderdale bought berries (at $3 each) from a local horticulturist, and seven of us prepared a smorgasbord. We each chewed a berry, swished it around in our mouths for a minute, then began to taste.
First, we did lemons and limes. Some said they tasted like tangerines, but there was more to the flavor than that: essence-of-lime without the sourness. We sliced them up and squeezed them one after another into our mouths.
“It has buttery notes!” said the person next to me.
Heineken became very drinkable on the miracle fruit. Some of the tasters thought it evoked cream soda. One friend suggested writing a letter to the brewer: “Dear Heineken, we had to pay $3 to enjoy your beer.”
Ranch dressing tasted like custard.
Bordeaux tasted like Riesling.
Goat cheese tasted like cream cheese.
Dubliner cheese tasted like a milder cheese.
Tequila tasted like tequila. (Tequila will not be moved.)
As you can see, the flavor conversions weren’t as wild as I’d thought they’d be.
This article appears in Jul 2-8, 2008.