If you’ve had COVID-19, chances are you might have had more symptoms than a cough and a fever. You might have lost your sense of taste and smell.

These two senses go together because we often smell food and crave it before we ever take a bite. Smelling really is a big part of tasting, and the thought of going through life without ever being able to smell chocolate chip cookies, really good BBQ or fresh fruit, is a sad thought indeed. It’s even sadder to think that we would never be able to taste our favorite foods; although, that might be good for a diet.

Kemar Gary Lalor is a 23-year-old architecture student who lives in Toronto. He was never tested for COVID-19, but he most likely had it since he experienced a sudden loss of taste and smell at the same time that he wasn’t feeling well. His mom, Trudy-Ann Lalor, did have a confirmed case of COVID-19, and she also lost her sense of taste and smell.

You might assume, or hope, that after you recover from COVID-19 and sense of smell and sense of taste would come back right away. That doesn’t always happen, but Trudy-Ann came up with a Jamaican remedy.

Trudy-Ann told her son about something that her mom used to make for her in Jamaica. She used the 2-ingredient recipe to get her sense of taste and smell back. She also made it for Kemar, and he ended up getting his senses back right away too.

What’s the magic recipe? It involves an orange and brown sugar. It’s super sweet and sounds delicious, but here’s the odd part. You cook the orange until the peel is black, and you eat it hot. Watch the video below to see how this remedy works for yourself.

@toosmxllHow to get taste buds back!!! ##howto ##tastebud ##lifehacks ##health ##fyp ##remedy ♬ Steven Universe – L.Dre

In the comments on Kemar’s TikTok, many people are sharing that this simple recipe worked for them. One comment reads, “Lost my taste buds for 3 months and this WORKED.”

Another viewer wrote, “works for regular colds too helps clear you up…iv done this since I was little my grandpa showed me this.”

As you saw in the TikTok, the orange is cooked over an open flame. If you have an electric stove, you might be wondering what you can do instead. Kemar added in a comment on the video saying, “if you don’t have a gas stove you could roast it in the oven until it busts open.”

Why does this Jamaican remedy works for some people? Surgeon Karan Rajan told BuzzFeed News that this remedy is a type of “olfactory training” which is usually done by exposing someone to very strong smells. He also explained that it doesn’t work for everyone.

Have you lost your sense of taste or smell due to COVID-19? Are you going to try this Jamaican remedy?