A group of researches in Switzerland have conducted an experiment to determine how music may affect the ageing process of cheese.
As NPR reports, the experiment “Cheese In Surround Sound,” started in Spring 2018. Researches gathered nine 10-kilo wheels of Emmental cheese—all processed in the same vat by the same farmer— and placed each wheel in a separate wooden crate.
These cheeses were then played different songs and soundwaves. The tracks exposed to the cheese include Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and ‘Jazz (We’ve Got)’ by hip-hop collective A Tribe Called Quest.
Eight of the cheese wheels were played the same track on loop, 24 hours a day for over six months. The ninth wheel of cheese acted as a control cheese and was forced to endure a life of silence, comforted by nothing but its own thoughts.
“Once matured, the cheeses were analysed by professional food technologists in a sensory consensus analysis and submitted to a panel of highly qualified culinary jurors in a blind taste test,” explains Michael Harenberg, Director of Studies, Sound Arts HKB, in an official report published on the study.
The analysts concluded that the cheese exposed to music had a milder flavour than the control cheese. The group also claim that the cheese that was played hip-hop had “a discernibly stronger smell and stronger, fruitier taste than the other test samples.”
The experiment has been deemed a success. The official report states that the “bio-acoustic impact of sound waves affects metabolic processes in cheese, to the point where a discernible difference in flavour becomes apparent – one which can even be visualised using food technology. Put simply, cheese that has been exposed to music tastes different.”
Watch: A Tribe Called Quest – ‘Electric Relaxation’
Would personally be interested in an experiment that explores how the sweet sounds of Emcee Kerser influences the taste of a brick of Mersey Valley original cheddar.
A few days ago it was revealed that Sir Elton John considers A Tribe Called Quest, “the seminal hip hop band of all time.” Read more about it now.
