Food for love and aphrodisiacs

Okay, I might have erred preparing all those creamy concoctions for V-Day. Just read now that meals made of cream , milk and cheese contain trytophan which makes one drowsy. Tsk, tsk..you’re supposed to sleep in ecstacy, not when dinner is just starting 😛 Or maybe I just like cream and cheese so much, never mind if it’s heavy on the tummy and makes one, well, sleepy.

I actually wrote an article before about aphrodisiacs before for a wedding magazine and am rescuing it now for the sake of this blog. The list includes some which are exotic while a few are surprisingly just staples on the kitchen cabinet:

Oysters are reputed to have very high aphrodisiac properties. They are very low in fat and high in zinc. Casanova was said to have eaten 50 of them raw every morning.

Anybody who has been to Chinatown must have heard of Soup No. 5 whose secret ingredients are legend among men who want to increase their virility. In some parts of Asia, snake blood is served as a rare delicacy. The snake tail is pierced and the customer sucks blood from it for a few minutes. Other kinds of animal genitalia prized as stimulants are eels. goose liver, seal penises, dove brains, goose tnogues and the musk glands of a deer, among others.

The lowly onion, simmered in extra virgin olive oil, can add an aphrodisiac touch to many different dishes.

Tomatoes, called the love apples by the French, are deemed by some as seductive food.

Carrots, a popular root vegetable, was reportedly used to seduce lovers by Middle Eastern royalty. (how? we wonder why)

In the Arab world, the asparagus is first boiled in water, then fried briefly in fat and sprinkled with condiments, to provide a powerful aphrodisiac.

Celery stalks, whether eaten raw, boiled, or braised, is another stimulant.

And women, according to a Chicago research, can be turned on by the simple scent of cucumbers.

Nuts, whether it be pine nuts, walnuts or betel nut, are renowned stimulants. The Perfumed Garden, an ancient Arabic love manual, prescribes “a glass of thick honey, plus 20 almonds and 100 pine nuts repeated for three nights, to restore a man’s vigor.”

Chocolates are a sweet turn-on because they contain over 400 different chemicals including caffeine and phenylethylamine (PEA), the same chemical property which arouses the same feelings when we are in love.

Believe it or not, green M & M’s have been found by teens in some parts of America as a turn-on. Hence, glass jars of pure green M & M’s are reserved on special occasions.

The Aztecs of Mexico were “the first chocoholics.” Legend has it that Montezuma drank 50 cups of cocoa before entering his harem of several hundred women.

Among the upper crust of society, caviar – taken by the spoonful with chilled vodka or champagne – is a preferred stimulant. And strawberries, dipped in whipped cream, can inflame one’s desire in more ways than one.

My thoughts : Some food are considered sexy indeed, some are not. I wouldn’t really munch on paella negra on V-Day. Food can provide the provide the setting and enhance the ambiance. But it’s really a matter of you have it or you don’t. Discuss.