Notchweiner

Remember when you were a kid? One of the greatest things in the world was to climb up on the kitchen counter and sneak one of those delicious little treats your parents hid on the top shelf of the cupboard. Twinkies were your caviar and Spaghetti-Os your filet mignon. Well, Joe Posnanski invites you to take a step back in time and reevaluate those childhood tastes.

If you’re anything like us, those wondrous treats of youth probably don’t hold the same appeal they once did. Of course, one can only expect dirt and paste to age so well.

At any rate, we were reminded of an article we read a while ago about a so-called “miracle fruit” from West Africa that alters your taste buds and makes acidic foods taste sweet. It’s not the same effect the aging process has, but it’s an interesting experience nonetheless. Lemons taste like candy, a beer becomes a chocolate milkshake and sulfuric acid tastes just like burning.

What’s our point? Well, now that we’re all grown up and realize that the things children like eating aren’t necessarily the most nutritious treats, we can just have our kids pop one of these in their mouths and presto, the garbage taste of Brussels sprouts becomes the sweet garbage taste of Brussels sprouts.

It’s pretty interesting that our sense of taste can be so completely deceived by anything from aging to a simple fruit. Overall though, good news for companies with products that some find less than desirable.