Raising a plant and seeing it thrive in the environment you set up, is one of the most rewarding parts of being a plant parent. However, growing juicy, red Miracle Berries tops it all off. To get to this stage, you must harness patience, prepare schedules, and emotional awareness of your plant. With Miracle Fruit Berries, it is essential to understand their care, harvest, and storing.
This tree needs top care and a caring environment in order to truly reap the full benefits. Following our blogs, you will not only learn how to grow, but how to harvest and preserve Miracle Berries.
Related: Caring for Your New Miracle Fruit Plant
Bearing Fruit
The appearance of fruit can widely range due to differing pollination times. Once your Miracle Berry plant has pollinated, fruit can appear anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks. Once your berries begin to appear, it will take another 3 to 4 weeks for the berries to be fully ripened.
Pollination
Depending on where your plant is growing, indoors or outdoors, there are differing ways to pollinate your tree.
- Outdoors: gently shake the branches to help the pollination process
- Indoors: run your hands through the branches to promote pollination
Pollinating midday produces the best results.
How to Harvest Miracle Berries
When you are ready to pick your Miracle Fruit, wait 7 to 10 days after they are red in order to get the juiciest berries.
- There are two ways for you to pick Miracle Berries.
- If you want the berries for instant enjoyment, you can use your fingers to hold the berry then gently pull it from the branch. You can remove them from the stem like a grape. This method makes the berries ripen quickly.
- If you want to store the berries for an extended period of time to send to friends or family, use scissors to cut the branch 1 inch from the berry to ensure it is still connected to the berry. This will make it last longer.
Preserving Miracle Fruit Berries
Here are three steps for you to preserve the berries:
- Wash gently with cool water, rinse, and dry thoroughly
- After picking, store the miracle fruit at room temperature for immediate consumption. The berries will lose their unique flavor within 4 days at room temperature.
- If long-term storage is the goal, your berries should be stored at 0ºF (-18ºC) or below in the freezer.
The berries can last up to 2 months when stored in the freezer. Freeze drying your Miracle Fruit Berries can create a longer shelf life.
Cooking with Magic Berries
The Miracle Berry Fruit has the glycoprotein called Miraculin that is sensitive to heat. The heat can destroy the protein’s effect when you cook. We recommend consuming fresh magic berries alongside meals to enhance the flavor or invite everyone in the neighborhood to a flavor tripping party. We suggest using recipes in the Miracle Berry Cookbook.
Give Your Tongue Super Powers
How to eat fresh Miracle Berries
- Put a berry in your mouth and chew to let the juice and pulp coat your tongue
- Note: Do not bite the seed because it is extremely bitter. You should eat the fruit like a Kalamata olive.
- Throw the seed out and begin to enjoy the full Miraculin effect
Tips for Enjoying Your Berries
- Consume the berry before meals that require heightened flavor and sweetness.
- There is no limit to how many Miracle Berries you can eat in a day. We recommend consuming 1-2 berries a day before meals or beverages to easily incorporate the berries into your everyday life. Be wary of consuming too many acidic foods as these can irritate your stomach.