Aprodisiacs -- Food To Turn You On

People have been adventurous in love, and with aphrodisiacs, for as long as our history has been recorded. In every land we continue to create love recipes to entice and seduce the opposite sex, and to enhance our performance in the act itself.

Although the reasons for attraction and desire are almost as much a mystery today as they were in ancient times, we do know that the spur for sexual desire begins in the brain - in the hypothalamus, which also governs our appetites for food and drink.

The sea is one of the major sources of life. It is therefore no surprise that most sea creatures have the elements to form an aphrodisiac.

All shellfish, the strongest aphrodisiacs, contain phosphorus, calcium, iodine, iron, vitamin B and glyco­phosphates, basic essentials for an aphrodisia

All oily fish, such as salmon, tuna, shark, eel, herring, mackerel and sardines, and many forms of white fish, including sole and turbot, contain phosphorus, calcium and vitamins A, B and D, important elements in a variety of aphrodisiac treats.

Oysters have always been highly prized for their delicate flavour and there is much debate as to
whether the native (also known as flat) oyster or the gigas (also known as Pacific or rock oyster) is superior। Traditionalists choose the native, but increasingly more people are recognising and enjoying the gigas, not least for its juicy, plump texture.

In the last 50 years, aphrodisiac food has been changing radically, along with our attitudes towards love and how to perform

Gone is the belief that men need rare steaks both to arouse desire and to keep up their stamina Instead, Europeans turn to more subtle meats, although they are not necessarily to be found in the super­marke.t

Bunderfleisch, for example, made in the Swiss mountains with a secret formula using mountain herbs and white wine, creates surprisingly sudden strength, and pastrami can do the same. Parma ham, delicious with green figs, is also good for providing instant energy. Lachsschinken (called Filet de Saxe in France) with Roquefort cheese was often eaten by Casanova before his famous conquests.

Vegetarians should also take heart. Peas, broad beans, radishes, artichokes, lettuce, leeks and onions are all confirmed as having aphrodisiacal properties. The Greeks noticed that onions “dim the eyes and excite amatory propensities” but also that even the onion “will do you no good if you have no strength yourself.”

Asparagus, an aristocrat among vegetables, still grows in its wild form along the sandy coasts of France, in Greece and profusely on the Russian Steppes.

Witte goud (white gold), the seasonal asparagus of Brabant and Limburg - sturdy white shoots towering above their foreign cousins - has become the favourite Dutch treat.

“Asparagus seems to work magic on the Dutch taste buds,” says Joop van Zantvort, owner of Auberge de Koets in ‘s-Hertogenbosh, where a new asparagus menu is offered daily in season (May and June).

Fruit delights the senses in many ways. Figs, like oysters, need nothing but their own inimitable qualities. The pale golden quince was said to be the original apple which lured Eve, while the serpent that tempted Eve hid in a bunch of bananas. Banana blossom also appears in Filipino recipes as an aphrodisiac.

Good sex needs plenty of energy. Raw food processes far more minerals and vitamins than cooked food
For a better sex life, eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and drink ginseng tea। Al fresco food - a watermelon on a hot day or piping hot soup washed down with malt whisky in the depths of winter - make an equally memorable and appropriate meal. The primitive pleasure of eating with one’s fingers is itself a sensual experience.

Via: http://londonfoodfilmfiesta.co.uk/