There are few things in the world that can make everyone more or less agree: and we can say almost with absolute certainty that, among these, are the pleasure of listening to music and that of eating chocolate. And one study even discovered that the former can influence the latter. How? Through a piece of music specifically designed to gently accompany the slow melting of good chocolate, further enhancing that flavor we already love so much.
Piano and Harp Make Chocolate Better
Is there anything that can make chocolate even better? You might say no, but according to composer and researcher Natalie Hyacinth of the University of Bristol, the answer is yes, and it lies in music. Dr. Hyacinth created a piece called "Sweetest Melody," commissioned by Galaxy (a well-known chocolate brand), with the aim of enhancing the experience of eating this food. After analyzing decades of research on multisensory processing —how the various senses interact with each other—Hyacinth concluded that specific characteristics of music can enhance the perception of the sweet taste and the sensation of smoothness of chocolate.
The song was born after a survey of 2,000 Britons: 37% said one of their favorite ways to enjoy their free time is to eat a sweet treat, while 56% said they listen to music to relax. Hence the idea of combining the experience of eating chocolate with that of listening to music. The result was a combination of precise elements, like a recipe, each with its own purpose: the piano accentuates the sweetness, the harp serves to add softness, set to 78 beats per minute, the same time it takes for a piece of Galaxy chocolate to melt. An interesting discovery which, as Hyacinth herself told the Mirror, demonstrates how "enjoying chocolate can be a multi-sensory experience that goes beyond taste and involves all the senses. The power of music to enhance the pleasure of chocolate is an exciting prospect."
The Multisensory Experience
Eating itself is an activity that involves taste and smell, but according to some studies, the perception of flavor can also depend on the other senses: sight, hearing, and touch contribute to completing the experience of taste. This is the philosophy behind multisensory eating, according to which all our senses actively participate in the pleasure of eating.
In this field, the most interesting studies come from Professor Charles Spence of the University of Oxford, according to whom taste is not an isolated sense but the result of the interaction of multiple sensory stimuli. For example, the color of a dish or its packaging can influence the perception of sweet or bitter, just as the texture and sound of a food—such as the crunch of a potato chip or the wonderful sound produced by the crust of a fragrant bread—can make us perceive a food as more or less fresh or of high quality. All these elements, therefore, contribute to the final taste of a product, demonstrating how flavor is the result of a synergy between our senses and that variations in them can contribute to altering the final result, at least for our palate.
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