You remember back when everyone was talking to plants and playing them music to see if they’re happier than plants that were just left alone? I don’t really other than those aforementioned facts, and also don’t know what the results were, but fortunately you don’t come here for plant news. What you might come here for though is the new study that has been conducted to see if cheese could be made to taste better by playing it music while it matures. CLICKBAIT: THE RESULTS MAY SHOCK YOU! ALSO, YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHAT THIS 90’S CHILD STAR LOOKS LIKE NOW!
A Swiss study at the Bern University of Arts wanted to see if playing music directly into maturing cheese would have any effect on its taste. Witchcraft it is not, as the sound waves in theory could bio-acoustically change the very bacteria constructing it for the better, or worse. Eight wheels of cheese, all made from the same vat of milk for standardization, were hooked to mini-transmitters. Eight wheels of cheese were exposed 24 hours a day for the six and a half months it took to be birthed to non-stop music. Eight wheels of cheese remained otherwise undisturbed save for this. From classical to techno to just a bunch of varying frequency sound waves, which some hipster will assure you is music, these cheeses got rocked to their very goopy-yet-slowly-solidifying cores. Once the maturation was done and the cheeses professionally taste tested, one of them did in fact change for the better. But which was it?
No, it wasn’t UV by Vril. Nor was it Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Nor even Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven. It was, if the video above didn’t give it away as intended, A Tribe Called Quest’s We Got (The Jazz). Yes, apparently hip hop, and to a lesser degree the medium frequency sounds, are the secret to making a cheese that has “a discernibly stronger smell and stronger, fruitier taste." This may not be what you’re looking for in your cheese, but it seems like smellier and fruitier are your options until further studies are completed.
And further studies there must indeed be, as the results are currently “conceivable, but not compelling.” With just one test under the belt, this is imaginable, so hopefully more will be forthcoming posthaste. Also, this experiment was conducted solely on Emmental cheese, which let me tell you is not the most nacho compatible type of cheese, or even in the top 10. If they can perfect this process on some nice Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar, then we’ll be in business, otherwise I’m fine with just a subscription to their magazine. Then if they can combine that with some chips made from corn that has been sung to, and some jalapenos that were whispered lullabies, then you’ll have yourself a truly great base for some nachos.