Flavour tripping is a process of altering tasting experience and perception. Imagine having fresh lemon juice or vinegar shots, not that I suggest the last one, and they taste like lemonade or raspberry vinegarette. It works well with high-acidity food or drinks, similar to the colour-changing technique, but instead of colour change, we have taste transformation. Whether we enjoy the flavour-changing food experience or any modernist cuisine/drinks will depend on how we see and perceive the purpose of eating and drinking. We think of ourselves as sophisticated and evolved human beings. Still, we only look at food and drinks as necessary for physical survival unless there is a food shortage. We are not more than different from our cavemen predecessors.
In late 1825, a French lawyer and politician, Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, published a brilliant book, The Physiology of Taste, where he shared his view through culinary recipes, anecdotes, and personal reflections of the importance of gastronomy to our well-being. Specifically, it is the influence of taste on our psychology, ways of thinking, and behaviour. What we eat or drink can make us happy or depressed and influence how we do things, and taste is essential to our psychological existence.
He had many famous quotes, and a couple of them highlighted his ideas about food and drinks.
“The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star.”
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste: Or, Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy
“Alcohol carries the pleasures of the palate to their highest degree.”
Brillat Savarin
Flavour tripping is just one part of this experience, so let’s see what causes this change of taste. There is a plant called the miracle berry (Synsepalum dulcificum), a small red fruit containing a glycoprotein (Miraculin). This protein coats the sour taste buds and temporarily alters their shape, which leads the taste receptors to perceive the sour taste as far sweeter.
The miracle berry is native to Western Africa and has long been used by the people there to improve the taste of sour food and sweetened drinks.
WebMD states, “People take miracle fruit to treat diabetes and correct chemotherapy-related taste disturbances. In foods, miracle fruit is used as a low-calorie sugar-free sweetener.” It has the great potential of replacing all artificial sweeteners with something of natural origin.
Growing these berries at home or buying them is not easy or cheap, but companies sell sweeteners in tablets.
Miracle Fruit Tablets cause sour and bitter foods and drinks to taste sweet, and you need only one pill to change your taste perception, which can last between 30 min to 2 hours. If you cut the pill and use only half of it, it might be a better idea to create the same but shorter-lasting effect. Not all people will have the same experience, though, and I believe the reason for that might have something to do with the people’s taste buds. Generally, people can be divided into Supertasters, Tasters, and Non-tasters. The difference among them is in the amount of the taste buds or their sensitivity, causing the different reactions to the same stimuli.
So, how do you do flavour-tripping tastings or menus at your place or restaurant? The answer is simple: “Don’t start with the flavour-tripping experience,” and leave it towards the end of the dinner or party. The reason is that everything you taste after that will taste sweet. Chef Cantu, from Chicago, was a great admirer of these berries, and in his iNG restaurant, he had a tasting menu dedicated to this kind of testing experience. He started the dinner with the regular menu, and halfway through, he gave everyone one of those miraculous berry pills. The same menu was served again, but it tasted different this time and was surprisingly confusing.
According to different testers’ reviews, the best experience was with acidic fruits. For example, lemons and limes taste like lemonade, but there aren’t many of them, as lemons are still lemons.
The most suitable drinks for the flavour-tripping experience are from the Sour drink family. Still, any cocktail with higher acidity, such as a Daiquiri, Caipirinha, Margarita, etc., will work. For instance, the recipe for a Daiquiri consists of rum, fresh lemon juice, and simple syrup. Make one without the simple syrup, just rum and lemon juice, and have people try it. Then, give them the berry tablet and ask them to try it again.
Of course, this is just a tiny example of flavour tripping. Still, the idea behind it and the result are the same. Not knowing what to expect, seeing the people’s surprise, enjoyment, and general appreciation of your efforts and skills will make it worthwhile.
