Hip hop best bet for a cheese that will please: Swiss study
Cheese makers carry the nine wheels of cheese for a tasting in the K3 cellar after the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 14, 2019. Stefan Wermuth/University of the Arts Bern/Handout via REUTERS
BURGDORF, Switzerland (Reuters) - Exposing cheese to round-the-clock music could give it more flavor and hip hop might be better than Mozart, Swiss researchers said on Thursday.
Nine wheels of Emmental cheese weighing 10 kilos (22 pounds) each were placed in separate wooden crates last September to test the impact of music on flavor and aroma.
A wheel of cheese is pictured in the K3 cellar during the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music, in this case Hiphop, by the University of the Arts during a media presentation in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
The cheese was exposed 24 hours a day to A Tribe Called Quest's hip hop track "We Got it From Here", Mozart's 'Magic Flute' opera or Led Zeppelin's rock classic "Stairway to Heaven".
One wheel was played the throbbing techno of Vril's "UV" and another Yello's dark ambient piece "Monolith".
Soundwaves at low, medium and high frequencies were played for three others while one wheel was left in peace.
A carved wooden cow stands guard in front of maturing wheels of cheese in the K3 cellar during a media presentation of the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
"The most obvious differences were observed in strength of flavor, smell and taste," Bern University of Arts researchers said in reporting the findings of a culinary jury which did blind tasting.
"The hip hop sample topped the list of all cheese exposed to music in terms of fruitiness...(it) was the strongest of these in terms of smell and taste."
Benjamin Luzuy, a Swiss TV chief and jury member, told Reuters TV: "The differences were very clear, in term of texture, taste, the appearance, there was really something very different."
Maturing wheels of cheese are pictured in the K3 cellar during a media presentation of the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
The experiment, instead of using loudspeakers, used mini transmitters to conduct the energy of the music into the cheese.
"All the energy is directly resonating inside of the cheese," Michael Harenberg of Bern University of Arts told Reuters.
Beat Wampfler, the cheesemaker behind the project, said the cheeses were tested twice by the jury and both times the results were more or less the same.
A cheese maker cuts a wheel of cheese during a tasting in the K3 cellar after the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 14, 2019. Stefan Wermuth/University of the Arts Bern/Handout via REUTERS
He said the experiment would now focus on hip hop.
"The idea is now to take 5 or 10 cheeses and put hip hop on them and then compare."
Maturing wheels of cheese are pictured in the K3 cellar during a media presentation of the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 13, 2019. Picture taken March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
(Writing by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Jason Neely)
A combination of pictures shows the nine wheels of cheese during a tasting in the K3 cellar after the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 14, 2019. Stefan Wermuth/University of the Arts Bern/Handout via REUTERS Beat Wampfler (R), a cheese maker, talks with Michael Harenberg, Professor at the Sound Art Department of the University of the Arts in Bern, next to maturing wheels of cheese in the K3 cellar during a media presentation of the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseThe nine wheels of cheese are pictreud before a tasting in the K3 cellar after the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 14, 2019. Stefan Wermuth/University of the Arts Bern/Handout via REUTERS Cheese makers carry the nine wheels of cheese for a tasting in the K3 cellar after the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 14, 2019. Stefan Wermuth/University of the Arts Bern/Handout via REUTERS Maturing wheels of cheese are pictured in the K3 cellar during a media presentation of the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 13, 2019. Picture taken March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseA member of the jury of experts checks cheese during a tasting in the K3 cellar after the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 14, 2019. Stefan Wermuth/University of the Arts Bern/Handout via REUTERSA member of the jury of experts checks cheese during a tasting in the K3 cellar after the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 14, 2019. Stefan Wermuth/University of the Arts Bern/Handout via REUTERS Beat Wampfler, a cheese maker, checks his wheels of cheese in the K3 cellar during a media presentation of the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 13, 2019. Picture taken March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseThe control panel of the hifi system used to mature wheels of cheese is pictured in the K3 cellar during a media presentation of the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseA member of the jury of experts smells cheese during a tasting in the K3 cellar after the experiment to "insonify" cheese with different types of music by the University of the Arts in Burgdorf, Switzerland, March 14, 2019. Stefan Wermuth/University of the Arts Bern/Handout via REUTERS
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