Listen "Crunch, Crackle, and Pop"
Episode Synopsis
“Sound is the forgotten flavor sense,” says experimental psychologist Charles Spence. In this episode, we discover how manipulating sound can transform our experience of food and drink, making stale potato chips taste fresh, adding the sensation of cream to black coffee, or boosting the savory, peaty notes in whiskey.
Composers have written music to go with feasts and banquets since antiquity—indeed, in at a particularly spectacular dinner hosted by Duke Philip of Burgundy in 1454, twenty-eight musicians were hidden inside an immense pie, beginning to play as the crust was opened. Today, however, most chefs and restaurants fail to consider the sonic aspects of eating and drinking. That’s a mistake, because, as we reveal in this episode, sound can affect how fast we eat, how much we’re prepared to pay for our meal, and even what it tastes like.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Composers have written music to go with feasts and banquets since antiquity—indeed, in at a particularly spectacular dinner hosted by Duke Philip of Burgundy in 1454, twenty-eight musicians were hidden inside an immense pie, beginning to play as the crust was opened. Today, however, most chefs and restaurants fail to consider the sonic aspects of eating and drinking. That’s a mistake, because, as we reveal in this episode, sound can affect how fast we eat, how much we’re prepared to pay for our meal, and even what it tastes like.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More episodes of the podcast Gastropod
From Fountain of Youth to Fruit on the Bottom: How Yoghurt Finally Made it Big in America
18/11/2025
Pizza Pizza!
21/10/2025
Talking Taco
09/09/2025
Tomatoes: A Love Story
19/08/2025
The Most Dangerous Fruit in America
05/08/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.