Chocolate Beer and doughnut-flavoured lemons

If I was forced to live my life in a film, then I probably wouldn’t choose Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – after all, the poor kid is completely impoverished, and whichever version you watch, Willy Wonka is pretty damn sinister. Plus, that Veruca girl… she’s one seriously irritating little b****.

However, yesterday I learnt of something which quite possibly could change my mind: the ‘Taste Tripping’. Currently gaining popularity in New York as an alternative night out – it’s an event in which people ‘trip’ their taste buds into believing that everything they eat is sweet.

Basically, you’re given a berry (Synsepalum dulcificum – also known as the 'miracle fruit') and told to hold it in your mouth for about a minute. A protein in the berry called miraculin binds with your taste buds and acts as a sweetness inducer when it comes in contact with acids. Lemons, mustard, cheeses, pickles – you name it – will taste like chocolate, honey, toffee and cream cakes.

The New York Times visited one of these parties in Manhattan a few months ago, reporting that one woman took a huge gulp of Guinness and announced it tasted like a chocolate shake, while another had Tabasco sauce dripped onto her tongue and thought it was hot doughnut glaze.

The effects of the fruit should last for a couple of hours or so, but apparently this was too long for some New Yorkers who started to get irate when absolutely everything they consumed tasted different – especially wine which was unpleasantly sweet. At least they didn’t turn purple and blow up like a giant blueberry…

Personally, I think this sounds incredible; eating oysters like chewing gum and sprouts like cheese cake. It could also possibly be used as a diet supplement in which people overcome their sweet cravings by tricking their minds into thinking they’re eating chocolate when really they're munching on celery.

And with no other dangers involved I don’t see much of a problem… unless of course you eat too many and start seeing Umpa Lumpas. In fact, wait – that would be amazing.

Perhaps I’ll stick a few berries in my pocket and find out…