Friday, November 4, 2011

Music affects the taste of wine

Food Diary (November 04, 2011)
Breakfast: Semolina porridge with plums
Lunch: Vegetarian buffet
Dinner: Polenta
Baking/sweets: chocolates, chocolate truffles

I didn't take any food photos today, but I did eat food. Less than a year ago I hardly ever took photos of food. How food blogging influences our lives. And I think when I was putting food on the plate today I was subconsciously placing it neatly to make it photogenic. But I selected what I wanted to eat rather than what would look good on the plate, I think, I hope!

Today's Favourite Photo
Source: Bite My Cake
Yogurt cake



Today’s Favourite Blog
Music affects the taste of wine. Research published in the British Journal of Psychology found that wine drinkers tended to describe the taste of their wine similar to the theme of music they heard in the background. 

In a study more than 200 participants were given one of two glasses of wine: red or white. Each of the four groups listened to one of four songs with different musical classifications. A fifth group did not listen to music while they drank.

The experiment used four songs and classified them as follows:
·        "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff - powerful and heavy
·        "Waltz of the Flowers" from Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" - subtle and refined
·        "Just Can't Get Enough" by Nouvelle Vague - zingy and refreshing
·        "Slow Breakdown" by Michael Brook - mellow and soft

After the tasting, participants were asked to rate the taste of their wine by choosing from the descriptions researchers had used to classify the songs. Majority of participants chose the description that had been assigned to the song they heard.

Professor Adrian North, who conducted the study, told the BBC that he thinks the results could "lead retailers to put music recommendations on their wine bottles." I don't think this would happen. Already some wines come with food recommendations. Having music recommendations could create more complications. Whats next - what kind of company to drink the wine with?

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16 comments:

  1. It really is amazing how much blogging changes the way you think! I tend to always use certain plates now because they make food look prettier even if I'm the only one eating!

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  2. How pretty is that yogurt cake!

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  3. What an interesting study. The photo of that cake just makes me want to take a huge bite out of it. The cut is just perfect.

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  4. Ooooh, fascinating!! I wonder if I could convince my pianist friend to make this the subject of his PhD :P

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  5. haha, same here! I like to arrange my food nicely too and i think doing that makes it more appetising too!

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  6. Interesting theory. Now what happens if we just think about a certain song in our heads when we're drinking? Will that work the same way, I wonder ...

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  7. Joanne: hahaha, we are all in the same boat!

    Yummychunklet: it is, and does not seem too complicated to make

    Sonia: and not so complicated to make

    Elaine: I had the same reaction

    Hannah: in that case you may have to be participate in the experiment!

    Sylvia: it probably does, since we eat with our eyes first!

    ping: it might work. In case you are having wine and the music is not suitable, you can think of a more suitable song, and when you drink another wine, you can simply change the song in the mind jukebox. It should work, why not.

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  8. hi three cookies- Culinary artists are they who skillfully prepare meals that are pleasing both to the palate and to the eyes....

    dont worry to my opinion your photos look great and the real food appetizing and authentic. we can read the ingredients and gauge.
    keep up your great blog

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  9. The company one drinks wine with is crucial! I cannot imagine enjoying wine with someone I dislike. Strangely I tend to endure easily the company of people with whom I drink stronger alcohols ;-)
    Your lunch (vegetarian buffet) sounds very mysterious! Photography is the most difficult part for me in blogging (at the beginning I thought it would be writing in English...), so when I cook something I already have on my blog or that I don't want to post, I feel very relaxed.

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  10. Wow, what a yummy cake. And fascinating about the wine-music correlation...I know it doesn't take much to influence me, so background music could certainly do it. Enjoy your weekend~

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  11. I'm happy to drink wine with or without music.

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  12. Veeeeeeery interesting! I think I need to replicate this experiment at home :)

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  13. Wan: thank you so much

    Sissi: the company is important too, I agree, maybe more important than the taste of wine, and the music! I think if we drink stronger alcohol we get drunk faster and its easier to tolerate people at that stage:) The vegetarian buffet lunch was in a restaurant and they had a large variety on offer, too many to write down!

    Lizzy: me neither, but music helps! Have a great weekend also

    Hotly Spiced: same here!

    Parsley sage: this needs to be repeatedly experiment and tested

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  14. the geek in me likes your article snippet. :D

    Amanda

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  15. Wow that's looks so impossible but if its done in a scientific way who am I to disprove anyways I think everything seems to affect the flavour of wines, from slopes where grapes are grown, to type of air and water given to the grapes, to oak barrels and even the shape of the wine glass

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