Daily News Channel
Spring may be just around the corner in this poor part of Helsinki known as the Deep East, but the ground is still mostly snow-covered and the air has a dry, cold bite. In a clearing outside the Kallahti Comprehensive School, a handful of 9-year-olds are sitting back-to-back, arranging sticks, pinecones, stones and berries into shapes on the frozen ground.
Dolores O’Riordan is singing “Linger” while playing a gleaming white guitar that’s almost half her size.
The small fruit has the color of a cranberry, the shape of an almond and tastes like a flavorless gummy. But after chewing the fruit and rubbing the pulp against the tongue, the berry, known by a promising name — “miracle fruit” or Synsepalum dulcificum — releases a sweetening potency that alters the taste buds. For about 15 to 30 minutes, everything sour is sweet