Cooking with Fire: What Makes Food Sexy?

Ask a woman who has been hand-fed plump, perfect, luscious strawberries if she believes in the aphrodisiac powers of food, and you’re likely to get an enthusiastic YES! But ask a scientist about aphrodisiacs, and she will probably roll her eyes.

Indeed, there’s no scientific proof that aphrodisiacs – substances purported to increase sexual desire – do any such thing. But over the course of history, food has always been linked with love. And virtually every food has at one time or another been considered an aphrodisiac. But certain foods, such as oysters, figs, chocolate, asparagus, and peppers, have long been reputed to send the sex drive into high gear.

Aphrodisiac foods heighten or awaken your senses. Take honey. The way it looks, the way it tastes, the way it feels on your tongue. It’s sticky. It’s drippy. It’s sexy.

Want to use food to woo the one you love? Here are some suggestions, but feel free to use your own creativity to enhance and guide you into blissful and explosive encounters.

Give a fig. Figs are a very sensual fruit; in fact, the ancient Greeks ate them at their orgies. You might just slice open a fresh fig, put it on a pretty plate and hand-feed it to your partner. The sensual aspects of the food do the seducing for you. It’s practically guaranteed to work.

Create the right setting. How you serve food is as important as what you serve. You can’t sit under fluorescent lighting, using paper plates, and expect an aphrodisiac to work. So dim the lights. Use beautiful linens and your best china and silverware. And eat in bed, if possible. And, if you drink, a nice wine helps things along.

Match the aphrodisiac to the moment. Love isn’t hot and sexy all the time. Sometimes love is comforting and sweet. Aphrodisiacs are the same way. A mug of hot chocolate can be an aphrodisiac; so can a plate of raw oysters. But both are potent, and both have their place.

Double up. Try to see how many aphrodisiacs you can sneak into one meal. For example, you might serve a generous helping of asparagus at dinner. Add fresh basil (a common, but little-known aphrodisiac) to a garden salad. And then serve fresh figs drizzled with honey for dessert.

Think beyond your stomach. Food with aphrodisiac powers don’t necessarily need to be eaten. In other works, think of other uses for honey and chocolate drippings.

Cook up something together. Preparing food is itself a seduction. Meals from the drive-up window, on the other hand, are not. Taking time to cook for or with someone say “I love you. I care about you. You’re worth my time.” And time is so precious, what bigger turn-on could there be?

When it comes to aphrodisiacs, folklore abounds. Yet some foods that have been used traditionally as aphrodisiacs are rich in substances the body needs to function at its sexual peek. Here comes the geeky food trivia section (or food facts?).

Asparagus: According to medieval lore, boiling and eating this light-green, slender stalk three days in a row will stir “bodily luste” in both men and women. Aside from the obvious phallic implications, practitioners of Chinese medicine consider asparagus a tonic for the kidneys. According to Chinese medicine, it is the kidneys that regulate the libido, suggesting that what is good for the kidneys is good for the bedroom.

Chocolate. The Aztec emperor Montezuma drank 50 glasses of honey-sweetened chocolate a day to sustain his virility. Chocolate is rich in the amino acid phenylalanine, which increases the brain’s level of the neuropeptide phenylethylamine (PEA), a natural amphetamine-like stimulant that may increase the urge to have sex.

Figs. The ancient Greeks and Romans ate them before every orgy. They contain magnesium, a mineral needed to produce sex hormones.

Honey. The word honeymoon was coined in ancient Europe, where newlyweds built up their sexual stamina with mead – honey wine – during the first month of their marriage. Honey provides the body with an easily digested and absorbed source of energy.

Oysters. These shellfish are rich in the mineral zinc, a key ingredient to testosterone production and, hence, sexual performance for both men and women. Zinc is also found in foods not frequently associated with aphrodisiacs such as legumes, pumpkin and sunflower seed, garlic and spinach.

There you have it folks. Married geeks and nerds, do a little experimenting with your spouse. However, I wouldn’t recommend this to single ladies and gentlemen. We don’t need unwanted pregnancies do we?