SOUTHWEST RANCHES, Fla. -- The South Florida grower of a so-called miracle fruit said it tricks taste buds, making sour foods taste sweet.

Curtis Mozie, a retired postal worker turned exotic fruit farmer, has grown a unique business selling miracle fruit.

“After eating miracle fruit, you will be able to eat anything sour or acidic and that item will taste sweet for up to two hours," Mozie said.

The phenomenon is caused by a chemical inside the red berry called miraculin.

“It’s a glycol protein that coats your taste buds, and it triggers a signal to your brain," Mozie said.

The signal tricks the taste buds into interpreting sour as sweet.

Local 10 took a taste test to the streets. Each participant ate one miracle fruit and then had to eat a lemon or a lime.

"Wow, it does taste like lemonade," said one tester.

"It's not sour at all. It's really not," said another. "I was not expecting that."

The plant is originally from Ghana, West Africa, but grows well in South Florida. Mozie has about 5,000 plants that bear fruit year round.

At a cost of $3 a berry, Mozie ships the sweetener around the world.

Mozie said the miracle fruit also has medicinal purposes.

“When you undergo chemotherapy, the radiation causes your taste buds, anything that you eat has a metallic flavor or taste to it. Eating the miracle fruit will enhance your appetite," Mozie said.

For more information, visit www.miraclefruitman.com.