SOUTHAMPTON, England,
April 5,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Name a more iconic duo than
chocolate and sea salt? The brackishness of the salt muddled with
the richness of chocolate, creates a 'tour de force' of flavour.
And this Easter, luxury cruise liner, Cunard, is on a mission to
reveal the science behind this celebrated combination, and why
Easter, the holiday famed for its connection to chocolate,
tastes better at sea. Working with Prof. Charles Spence, the leading gastrophysicist from
the University of Oxford, Cunard has
identified why taking a cruise over Easter can create an
unforgettable experience, for both you and your tastebuds.
According to Charles, food and drink taste better when having a
good time, which is highly likely when travelling on one of
Cunard's renowned luxury ships. This is known as the 'Provencal
rose paradox' which Prof Spence claims everyone, especially
Northern Europeans, has experienced a version of in their
lifetime.[1]
Prof. Spence, leading gastrophysicist from the University of Oxford says:
"It relates
to the fact that food and drink seem to taste so much better when
we are on holiday, whether this is with our family in the
Mediterranean, or travelling solo with the sun on our backs. So
nice in fact, that we are even tempted to buy a few bottles of that
same holiday wine, to bring back home and share on a cold winter's
evening. Only it never tastes the same; it is disappointing
somehow.[2] The reason is that when we
are on holiday, we are likely to be relaxed and in a better mood,
and food simply tastes better when we are in a better mood. Given
that people don't often cruise for work, they are likely to be
happy and relaxed on their cruise hence making food and drink taste
better."
But what about the salty sea air to accompany your chocolate
eggs? Salt is a well-known flavour enhancer, helping, for example,
to mask bitterness in tonic water or grapefruit, whilst at the same
time enhancing the taste of many other
foods.[3] Since salt suppresses bitterness
and accentuates sweetness, it is the ideal accompaniment to
chocolate, likely to work better with a more bitter dark chocolate,
than milk or white chocolate.
The flavour-enhancing properties of salt might not be the only
cause for chocolate tasting better at sea, as according to Prof
Spence, even seeing, smelling, and hearing the sea may also
conceptually prime notions of saltiness too, thus enhancing the
sensation even further.
Prof. Spence goes on to say:
"Looking out on the sea while simultaneously smelling and
hearing the ocean, is all likely to prime saltiness, leading to a
more cognitive form of taste enhancement. In an experiment I
conducted with a leading chef a few years ago, we were able to show
that hearing the sounds of the sea made seafood taste better, so
why not chocolate as well?[4]"
In this case, the combination of the salty sea air perfectly
complements and enhances the flavours of quality chocolate,
offering a distinct contrast between the salty, sweet, and bitter
notes of the chocolate. Whilst at the same time, research
shows that being close to and viewing the blues of
water[5] has a beneficial effect on our
social, cognitive, and emotional
well-being.[6] The mood and well-being
enhancing effect of being by water combined with the iconic taste
duo of sea salt and chocolate, then likely suggests that it will in
fact taste better whilst on a Cunard cruise.
Lee Powell, Vice President,
Brand and Product at Cunard says:
Special occasions deserve special ingredients, and when it
comes to Easter, the onboard teams on each of our three Queens go
above and beyond to create a suitably indulgent celebration. Our
skilled chefs will be creating incredibly elegant chocolate
figurines and desserts, our bars will be serving chocolate
cocktails and guests will enjoy chocolate treats across the
weekend, including a total of almost 6,500 chocolate
bunnies!
Notes to Editors
Social Media
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cunard
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cunardline
YouTube: www.youtube.com/wearecunard
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cunardline
Media Assets (for media only)
Cunard photography is available online
at https://cunard.assetbank-server.com
Email: pressoffice@cunard.co.uk
Password: Cunard175
ABOUT CUNARD:
Cunard is a luxury British cruise line,
renowned for creating unforgettable experiences around the world.
Cunard has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North
Atlantic, since 1840, celebrating an incredible 182 years of
operation. A pioneer in transatlantic journeys for generations,
Cunard is world class. The Cunard experience is built on fine
dining, hand-selected entertainment and outstanding service. From
five-star restaurants and in-suite dining to inspiring guest
speakers, the library and film screenings, every detail has been
meticulously crafted to make the experience unforgettable.
Destinations include Europe, the
Caribbean, the Far East and
Australia.
There are currently three Cunard ships, Queen Mary 2, Queen
Elizabeth and Queen Victoria
and a fourth ship, Queen Anne, will
be entering service in early 2024. This investment is part of the
company's ambitious plans for the future of Cunard globally and
will be the first time since 1999 that Cunard will have four ships
in simultaneous service.
Cunard is based at Carnival House in Southampton and has been owned since 1998 by
Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL) (LSE: CCL) (NYSE:
CUK)
ABOUT PROF. CHARLES
SPENCE:
Professor Charles
Spence is a world-famous experimental psychologist with a
specialization in neuroscience-inspired multisensory design. He has
worked with many of the world's largest companies across the globe
since establishing the Crossmodal Research Laboratory (CRL) at the
Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford
University in 1997. Prof. Spence has published over 1,100
academic articles and edited or authored, 16 books including, in
2014, the Prose prize-winning "The perfect meal", and the
international bestseller "Gastrophysics: The new science of eating"
(2017; Penguin Viking) – winner of the 2019 Le Grand Prix de la
Culture Gastronomique from Académie Internationale de la
Gastronomie. His latest book Sensehacking was published in
2021.
Much of Prof. Spence's work focuses on the design of enhanced
multisensory food and drink experiences, through collaborations
with chefs, baristas, mixologists, chocolatiers, perfumiers, and
the food and beverage, and flavour and fragrance industries. Prof.
Spence has worked extensively in the world of multisensory
experiential wine and coffee and has also worked extensively on the
question of how technology will transform our dining/drinking
experiences in the future.
See short video at: Charles
Spence – Sensploration (FoST
2016). https://vimeo.com/170509976.
And profile
at: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/02/accounting-for-taste.
"The Perfect Meal" | Talks at
Google: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgUVjKsP_wc
AEG
Tasteology: http://www.aeg.co.uk/taste/inspiration/tasteology/
Neurocuisine, The
Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/video/2016/may/23/neuro-cuisine-exploring-the-science-of-flavour-video
Multisensory Experience and Coffee –
RecoSymposium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVKabsudi1I
Unexpected connections -- pleasure and pain: Charles Spence at
TEDxUHasselt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVt-QrNFZso
Flavour Sense Nation short videos: Prof. Charles Spence – Flavour SenseNation
http://flavoursense.com/ask-the-scientist/prof-charles-spence
Entomophagy in our world,
TEDxCityUniversityLondon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQEX-kMpz-4
Shitsukan (2019) Japan https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoDvHIx6ItiODbZgBWEDbWCC-N3h8hW9o
Cambridge Biological Society:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dZSlSuRs34
Spence Bar Academy
Bulgaria https://www.facebook.com/BarAcademyBulgaria/videos/gastrophysics-a-multisensory-approach-to-cocktails-by-prof-charles-spencesofiaba/361034184762577/
Spence LSE Gastrophysics
talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB_B9hfsNXI
Spence Going Underground
TV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56e5UZJreg0
For multisensory packaging video,
see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV3SRKFpEsg
Nuffield Triannual Food
Conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePguEqCJ7Ks
http://www.blog.generalmills.com/2016/09/podcast-making-food-your-five-senses-will-love/
See also: BBC SERIES - The Uncommon Senses; Series 1 Dinnertime:
A Multisensory
Extravaganza! https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b08k5zqw
Enhancing Multisensory Experiences: Perspectives from the Food
& Beverage, and Flavor & Fragrance Industries | Listen
Notes
https://hq.quikly.com/blog/the-psychology-of-fast-food-nostalgia.
Photo -
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2048357/Cunard_Chocolate.jpg
[1] Spence, C., &
Piqueras-Fiszman, B. (2014). The perfect meal: The multisensory
science of food and dining. Oxford,
UK:
Wiley-Blackwell.[2] Spence, C.
(2017). Gastrophysics: The new science of eating.
London, UK: Viking Penguin.
[3] Breslin, P. A. S., & Beauchamp,
G. K. (1997). Salt enhances flavor by suppressing bitterness.
Nature, 387, 563.
[4] Spence, C., Shankar, M. U.,
& Blumenthal, H. (2011). 'Sound bites': Auditory contributions
to the perception and consumption of food and drink. In F. Bacci
& D. Melcher (Eds.), Art and the senses (pp. 207-238).
Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press
[5] Cf. González, J.,
Barros-Loscertales, A., Pulvermüller, F., Meseguer, V., Sanjuán,
A., Belloch, V., et al. (2006). Reading cinnamon activates
olfactory brain regions. NeuroImage, 32, 906-912.
[6] Leonor, F., Lake, J., & Guerra,
M. (2018). Effect of nostalgia triggered by sound on flavor
perception. In R. Bonacho, A. P. de Sousa, C. Viegas, J. P.
Martins, M. J. Pires, & S. V. Estévão (Eds.), Experiencing
food, designing dialogue (pp. 37-40). London, UK: CRC Press.
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