Have you ever wondered whether exposing cheese to different genres of music could alter its taste? No? Me neither.
Swiss Cheesemaker Beat Wampfler certainly did, along with a team of researchers from Bern University of Arts who found that exposing cheese to hip hop made the cheese noticeably more ‘funky’. Genres such as classical and rock had far less of an impact on its taste.
Cheese that has been exposed to hip hop music tastes funkier, a very important team of researchers has found.
The study was carried out in Wampfler’s cheese cellar by placing nine wheels of Enemental cheese in individual wooden crates whereby each wheel was exposed to an endless cycle of one song, on repeat for six months. The song was played through a mini transducer which was injected into the cheese, allowing the sound waves to immerse the wheel effectively.
The cheeses were exposed to songs from a variety of genres including UV by Vril for the techno palette, Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin to rock out to, Mozart’s The Magic Flute for a classic cheese and finally Jazz (We’ve Got) by A Tribe Called Quest representing hip-hop. One cheese was left in silence for comparison.
When the six-month period was over, the cheeses were examined by food technologists from the ZHAW Food Perception Research Group, who determined the cheese exposed to music had a milder flavour than the cheese that was left in silence . Interestingly, the hip hop cheese had a stronger aroma and flavour than all the other samples, contributing to a “funkier” taste. This was further confirmed by blinded culinary experts who noticed the stark difference.
Apparently, cheese lovers are now requesting to buy cheese that has listened to their favourite artist. I’ll get a wheel that’s listened to the Bee Gees, thanks. What a world we live in .
