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Stairway to edam: Swiss bloke blasts roquefort his cheese, thinks Led Zep might make it tastier

Is Emmental? Probably a bit

One Swiss chap hopes to get his rock and rollright by playing music to cheese to see if that makes it taste better.

Burgdorf (Berthoud) resident Beat Wampfler's unconventional experiment attracted the attention of The Japan Times, which reported that since September the veterinarian and cheese enthusiast has been serenading Emmental in his basement with the likes of "rock gods Led Zeppelin to hip-hop legends A Tribe Called Queso Quest".

He's gouda brie kidding, right? The University of the Arts in Bern doesn't think so and has lent Wampfler its support and students to help fill any holes in the experiment, though nacho without trepidation.

"At first we were skeptical," the university's music director Michael Harenberg told the English-language paper. "Then we discovered there is a field called sonochemistry that looks at the influences of sound waves, the effect of sound, on solid bodies."

Fair enough, it's starting to sound a smidgen less crackers. Just a smidgen, though.

"Bacteria is responsible for the formation of the taste of cheese, with the enzymes that influence its maturity," Wampfler enthused. "I am convinced that humidity, temperature or nutrients are not the only things that influence taste. Sounds, ultrasounds or music can also have physical effects."

Speakers playing all sorts of music – including "techno beats, ambient choirs and Mozart's 'Magic Flute'" – have been positioned beneath each slab of deliciousness and a panel of "expert cheese tasters" will deem if there has been any effect on 14 March.

If so, El Reg would like to see the experiment rolled out to Lancashire, Gloucester and Wensleydale. Don't forget to add your playlist suggestions in the comments. ®

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