An aphrodisiac is a substance, whether natural or man-made, that is believed to increase sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behaviour.
However, to describe them only in those terms is to deny them the fullness of the experience they can bring to the individual. How an aphrodisiac tastes and how it looks are as important to that experience as its chemical properties.
Photography by Chloe Dann
Aphrodisiacs have been around way longer than modern medicine. They can be traced back to China in the period 2697 to 2595 BC, and Hindu cultures that wrote poems about performance enhancers, ingredients and usage tips dating back to around 2000 to 1000 BC.
While there are drugs that can increase sexual behaviour (Viagra and Addyi among them), you’re unlikely to look at Pfizer’s blue and white cardboard pack and get a hard-on.
On the other hand, an oyster, a ripe fig sliced down the middle, an upright asparagus with its tips out and proud, or pomegranate seeds surrounded by sweet edible pulp can (in the right circumstances) elicit a pleasurable reaction.
This has less to do with love than desire, and more in keeping with the sentiments expressed in Shakespeare’s Macbeth:
But there’s no bottom, none,
In my voluptuousness: your wives, your daughters,
Your matrons and your maids, could not fill up
The cistern of my lust.
Aphrodisiacs (from the Greek ἀφροδισιακόν, aphrodisiakon) were inspired by Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Throughout human history, we have been aware of certain foods and beverages that were believed to make sex more pleasurable, or even attainable. It’s more likely that we were driven by a belief that it could work rather than the scientific basis for it.
There doesn’t appear to be any credible scientific studies that support the efficacy of aphrodisiacs. However, we shouldn’t discount the fact that promotion of aphrodisiacs may have been, in part at least, an opportunity to liberate women from the male-dominated societal restrictions imposed on them when it came to talking about (let alone being actively involved in) sex and pleasure.
Let’s face it, women have traditionally been the cooks. So when a woman prepares a meal that includes foods commonly held to be aphrodisiacs, maybe she’s asserting her independence and upholding her sexual rights?
Whether or not there is evidence to support the status of certain foods as having aphrodisiacal qualities, who is going to argue with the trying in the frying?
Men and women who are up for the challenge might want to consider cookbooks that have been written with this purpose in mind. _________________________________________________________________________________
Here are some that are worthy of consideration (we are indebted to Callan Boys of The Age ‘Good Food Guide’ for his research and subsequent article):
Fork Me, Spoon Me: The Sensual Cookbook, Amy Reiley, Life of Reiley Publishing
According to the back cover of this recipe book designed to “promote overall sexual health”, Amy Reiley is the leading American authority on sensual food. The author has a Masters of Gastronomy and backs this up with recipes for “warm lobster-stuffed zucchini”, “vanilla-scented sea bass” and “moist mango meatloaf”. Dig in.
InterCourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook, Martha Hopkins, Hamlyn
This was such a hit in the US and Australia when it was published in 1997, a 10th anniversary edition was commissioned for bridal showers everywhere. The recipes don’t look too gross on paper (orange panna cotta, say) but, gee whiz: that title.
The Cookie Sutra: An Ancient Treatise that Love Shall Never Grow Stale Nor Crumble, Edward Jaye, Workman Publishing Company
A collection of gingerbread men photographed in different positions from the Kama Sutra. Yeah, I don’t know either.
Tender is the Moment, uncredited freelancer wondering what life decisions led to writing a fried-chicken
sex book, KFC
Public relations companies love sending ridiculous promo items to media companies and this romance novel focused on a woman’s love for KFC is about as bonkers as they get.
An excerpt: “Sandra wiggled excitedly in her seat, perhaps because she knew that
this was it – that greaseproof paper-thin
moment before countryside etiquette would disintegrate into a forthright burst of passion; that courteous invitation fried so deep in southern hospitality. Now was the time to answer… ‘one Original Tenders box, please’.”
Intimacy on the Plate: 200 Aphrodisiac Recipes to Spice Up Your Love Life at Home Tonight, Olga Petrenko, Identity Publications
Still chasing that perfect recipe for fish fondue with banana sauce? Here it is.
Beau Cook’s Food Porn: Beau Cook
Beau Cook is a fire-fighter from Canberra who made it to the MasterChef top eight in 2012. Food Porn, self-published by Cook, is essentially a celebration of getting starkers and making tacos. “For me the true meaning of food porn is the combination of food and sex,” says Cook. “I would love to see more people getting naked and having fun in the kitchen.”
Food Porn is rich with pictures of bare-arsed models holding fruit (grapefruit, rockmelon, more bananas than a Coffs Harbour postcard rack) in positions that an 11-year-old would acknowledge as objectively hilarious.
Recipe titles are injected with a similar dose of school camp humour, such as “Sticky Fingers” (honey chicken wings), “Spicy Root” (Cajun-spiced vegetables) and “Hummusexual”. “If you’re going to rub this all over your body, just beware of the chilli around sensitive areas,” cautions Cook of the harissa-spiked chickpea dip. Thanks, mate.
Lust at First Bite: Ross Holland and Melissa Horton, Better Energy
“Whether you’ve been married for 30 years or are just beginning to date, Lust at First Bite book will tempt your taste buds and ignite the hunger in your relationship,” claims the book’s media release, but I’m not so sure. Creating “a masterpiece of desire using a canvas, bold paints and your bodies as brushes, with three colourful fruity dips” is loads for a second date. Recipe highlights include “Tie Me Up Tiramisu”, “Playful Paella” and a “Puff Pastry Love Log” made with leftover curry.
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