GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- What if your favorite foods suddenly tasted sweeter, better? Or what if you could get your kids to eat their broccoli?
It sounds like something Willy Wonka would dream up, but one company claims to make it happen.
Mberry claims foods like lemons and limes taste like lemonade and spicy peppers taste like sweet peppers.
Dr. Andrew Heaford, a pediatric otolarygnologist in Grand Rapids, explains how the berry works within your body.
"It's a glycoprotein," he said, "just like any other proteins we may eat,m and it just so happens to adhere to the receptors in our taste buds. And in an environment of a normal PH, it does not function, and in an environment of a low PH -- such as a sour type food -- it activates the taste bud to alter your perception.”
Dr. Heaford assures us this is completely safe: the tablet simply forms a glycoprotein layer on top of your tongue, and the taste should only last about 20 minutes.
We decided to host a "flavor tripping" party of our own at FOX 17. We blindfolded a few volunteers, had them melt the tablet on their tongue and try a series of different foods.
Our taste testers found lemons tasted sweeter like oranges; vinegar tasted like sweet-and-sour mix, and carrots tasted more flavorful.
Dr. Heaford said that the tablet and berry could also have some positive medical implications for some people.
"People who have been on chemotherapy who have that metallic taste in their mouths are starting to use this Mberry now to augment their taste perception to make things a little more palatable."
If you're interested in trying the berries out for themselves, you can order online on the Mberry website.
