Music makes chocolate taste even sweeter

The music you hear while you eat has an influence on how the meal tastes, according to a researcher in Flanders.

The study was part of the PhD research of Felipe Reinoso Carvalho of the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) and Free University of Brussels (VUB), working with a professor from Oxford University and Bruges chocolatier Dominique Persoone.

Together, they created four pralines and two soundtracks. One of the soundtracks was labelled “soft” and the other “sharp”, referring to the emotions or taste the music should trigger.

In total, 116 people ate the pralines and described their experience. The subjects were divided into four groups, one per praline. Each person was given two identical pralines with exactly the same flavour and shape, and they listened to different songs while eating each praline.

The people who ate the chocolate when listening to the “soft” music described the praline as creamier and sweeter, while those who listened to the “sharp” music described the same chocolate as rougher and more bitter.

The research results are being used for the The Sound of Chocolate, part of the Make.Brussels campaign to boost creativity in the capital. The first goal is to create a chocolate box with music from Brussels musicians, which will be sold at the chocolate shops in the Zavel neighbourhood.

Photo courtesy The Sound of Chocolate