Our Top 5 Noisiest Foods
What Are the Noisiest Foods?
At JCW Acoustic Supplies, we normally deal with noise travelling through walls, floors and ceilings. However, not every irritating sound requires an acoustic survey or a new soundproofing system.
Sometimes the source of the disturbance is sitting directly beside you with a packet of crisps.
Crunching, rustling, cracking and slurping can sound remarkably loud in a quiet cinema, office or living room. The person eating may barely notice, while everyone nearby hears every mouthful.
With that in mind, we have compiled a light-hearted list of five foods that are particularly difficult to eat quietly.
1. Popcorn
Popcorn may be the traditional cinema snack, but it is also one of the least discreet foods you could choose during a quiet scene.
The noise begins before anyone has taken a bite. First comes the rustling of the bag or cardboard tub. Then there is the search for the perfect piece, followed by the unmistakable crunch.
One piece of popcorn is not especially loud. The problem is that nobody eats only one piece. The cycle of rustling, selecting and crunching can continue through an entire film.
Popcorn also seems louder in a cinema because the audience is usually quiet and focused on the screen. During a tense or emotional scene, even a small crunch can feel unusually prominent.
Of course, it would not really feel like a trip to the cinema without popcorn. The best compromise may simply be to open the packaging before the film begins and save the most enthusiastic rummaging for the louder scenes.
2. Poppadoms
Poppadoms do not simply get eaten. They are cracked, snapped and broken into smaller pieces before the meal has properly started.
The first break normally produces a sharp crack, followed by several smaller ones as everyone divides their poppadom into manageable sections.
The sound is brief compared with a packet of crisps, but it can be surprisingly dramatic in a restaurant where several tables receive their poppadoms at the same time.
There is also very little opportunity to disguise the noise. A poppadom is crisp by design, so trying to break one silently is almost impossible.
Fortunately, the cracking is part of the experience. It signals that the food has arrived and gives everyone something to enjoy while waiting for the main course.
3. Crisps
Crisps combine two different types of food noise: the rustling packet and the crunch of the crisps themselves.
They are particularly noticeable in shared offices. Someone opens a packet during a quiet afternoon, and every attempt to reach the next crisp produces another burst of packaging noise.
The person eating may believe they are being discreet by moving slowly. Unfortunately, slowly opening and closing a crisp packet often seems to make the process last even longer.
Crisps can also become a regular feature of online meetings. A muted microphone may protect colleagues on the call, but it does little for anyone sitting nearby.
Transferring the crisps into a bowl can remove most of the packet noise, although there is still no way around the crunching. At least the disturbance will be shorter and slightly less dramatic.
4. Nuts
Nuts produce a similar crunch to crisps, but they have one special advantage in the noisy-food rankings: longevity.
A packet of crisps is usually finished in one sitting. A large bag of nuts may remain on a desk or kitchen counter for most of the day.
This creates a pattern of apparently random crunching. Just when everyone assumes the snack has been finished, the hand returns to the packet and the process begins again.
Some varieties are louder than others. Harder roasted nuts can create a sharp crunch, while nuts sold in shells introduce cracking and the additional sound of discarded shells landing in a bowl.
They may be a convenient snack, but they are not always the most peaceful choice for a library, shared office or quiet waiting room.
5. Cereal
Cereal earns its place because nearly every stage of preparing and eating it creates some form of noise.
There is the box being opened, the inner packet rustling and the cereal landing in the bowl. The milk is added, the spoon begins tapping against the sides and the crunching starts.
Some cereals gradually become quieter as they soften. Others seem determined to remain crunchy until the final spoonful.
Cereal is also commonly eaten early in the morning, when the rest of the household may still be asleep and ordinary kitchen sounds seem much louder.
A little care with bowls, spoons and cupboard doors can reduce the surrounding clatter. The cereal itself, however, is unlikely to cooperate.
Why Do Crunchy Foods Seem So Loud?
Food noises often feel more intrusive because they occur in spaces where the general background level is low.
In a busy restaurant, an individual crunch may disappear among conversations, music and kitchen activity. The same sound can become much more noticeable in a quiet office, cinema or bedroom.
Hard surfaces can also reflect sound around a room. Bare walls, hard floors, glazing and plain ceilings may cause small sounds to remain more noticeable than they would in a softer, less reflective space.
This does not mean that installing acoustic treatment will make somebody eat more quietly. However, suitable sound absorption can reduce reverberation in offices, restaurants and other shared environments.
Absorption controls reflected sound within a room. It is different from soundproofing, which is used to reduce noise travelling between separate spaces.
Other Noisy Food Contenders
Several foods narrowly missed our top five.
Apples produce a strong first bite followed by repeated crunching. Crackers create crumbs and sharp snapping sounds. Celery is almost impossible to eat without broadcasting each bite to the room.
Sweets in individual wrappers can also become surprisingly noisy during meetings, films and live performances. The sweet itself may be silent, but the packaging rarely is.
Then there are foods that require enthusiastic slurping, scraping or cutting. These may not technically be crunchy, but they still have plenty of potential to attract attention.
Can Noisy Foods Be Eaten Quietly?
There is no completely silent way to eat something designed to crunch, crack or snap.
A few simple choices can make the process less noticeable:
- Transfer snacks from noisy packaging into a bowl
- Open wrappers before a film, meeting or performance begins
- Avoid scraping cutlery against plates and bowls
- Choose a break area rather than eating at a shared desk
- Save particularly crunchy snacks for a naturally busier environment
Most people will not object to an occasional crunch. It is usually the repeated rustling, tapping and rummaging that attracts attention.
Our Noisiest Food Winner
Popcorn takes the top position because it combines continuous crunching with some of the most determined packaging rustling known to cinema audiences.
Crisps come a close second, particularly in a quiet office, while cereal deserves recognition for creating noise at almost every stage of the process.
Fortunately, noisy foods are rarely a serious acoustic problem. A little awareness and consideration are normally all that is required.
For noise travelling through walls, floors or ceilings, however, call Acoustic Supplies on 01204 548400 or contact the team online to discuss your soundproofing or sound absorption project.