RSS
Home
The food of love: Aphrodisiacs
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Cupid
When sexual potency flags, it’s surprising what a person will consume as a “pick-me-up.” The name comes from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Throughout history, many foods, drinks, and behaviors have gained a reputation for increasing sexual stamina and pleasure. While some foods may have offered needed nutrients, many seem to have worked because of the user’s belief that they would do so, the placebo effect. Few have stood up to scientific study.
Foods with supposed aphrodisiac properties have changed through the years. They have included chocolate, oysters, caviar, powdered rhinoceros tusk, eggs, bull’s blood drawn from the testes, asparagus, and even tomatoes (pomme d'amour, apple of love).
Here is a roundup of a few of the more unusual aphrodisiac foods, but I don’t endorse any of them.
• Ambergris is a solid, waxy, substance produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. Because of its sweet, earthy odor, it used to be used as a fixative in perfumes.
• A species of leafcutter ant, atta laevigata, found from Colombia to Paraguay is a traditional wedding gift in South America. Only the queens are collected. The legs and wings are removed and the body is soaked in salty water, then roasted.
• Balut is a common street food in Southeast Asia. Balut is a boiled duck or chicken egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside. In addition to being an aphrodisiac, it’s considered a hearty, high-protein snack.
• Horny Goat Weed, epimedium grandiflorum, is a flowering plant which has shown to increase sexual activity in goats. It’s available in capsules, often going by the Vietnamese name dâm d??ng ho?c.
• Mannish Water is a goat soup served up in Jamaica. According to Rough Guide, mannish water is traditionally served to a groom on his wedding night. The dish is believed to have inspired the Rolling Stones with the name for their Goats Head Soup album.
Incidentally, according to the book A Natural History of Love, author Diane Ackerman says that the effects of “Spanish Fly” were found because of a dish of frog’s legs. This is a popular French delicacy, but these frogs came from a nearby swamp and were served to French soldiers in North Africa. All reported severe priapism after the meal. The frogs had been eating meloid beetles, which contain cantharidin, a urinary tract irritant. Many men, including the Marquis de Sade, have used it to improve virility. It’s dangerously toxic stuff and at least one person, a woman who was given ice cream laced with the stuff, has died from the effects.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
