The Voluptuous Libertine

We’ve all heard the various claims about aphrodisiacs, eating strange or even downright dangerous foods will make you instantly horny and able to go for hours on end without tiring, without stopping, without needing a break. I seriously doubt this. I don’t know anyone outside of serious Red Tantra practitioners who can make that claim and back it up. So while most of the claims surrounding aphrodisiacs are most likely false, they do work after a fashion.

Psychological/Mental: If you truly believe something will happen, it will feel as though it does. So if you honestly believe that eating bull testicles will make you an instant love machine, then it will. If you didn’t believe it, then you just ate bull testicles. Yummy?

Physical: This is the most sensual aspect of any food whether or not it boasts claims of aphrodisiac value. The texture or feel of food on the tongue, especially food that is creamy or otherwise soft recalls erotic memories of being with your lovers. Also, the texture or feel of the food when you touch it, especially a pudding. You lightly dip your fingers into a rich, chocolate pudding, letting your lover hungrily, lustily lick it off. Or you do the licking. Either way it’s delightfully sexy. Smell, especially that of vanilla, lavender, cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate or any other spice that is usually found in desserts, plays an even more important role as scent is humanity’s strongest memory trigger. But those particular spices are very warm and inviting, just as sex and lovers should be. An important health safety concern with smell and taste are allergies. Sometimes chili pepper is used in aphrodisiacs but if you are allergic, I doubt you’ll be rushing to the bed so much as the emergency room! The look of the food… most of us would consider the look of a creamy, smooth texture of food more of a turn-on than, say, a double-stack. The sound is important as well, since few would consider hearing their lover munch on a carrot or other hard, crunchy food, to be erotic.

Even the way the food must be eaten is a significant physical aspect of any food that could be considered in an erotic context. The aforementioned carrot is one of those foods that would be at the bottom of that list. But a piece of asparagus, properly cooked is much higher. I’m reminded of the banquet scene in Tom Jones or the courtesan training scene in Dangerous Beauty. The more deliberate a food has to be eaten, primarily using the lips and the tongue, the sexier it will be to watch. When was the last time you were aroused watching your lover practically unhinge their jaw in order to shove some food in? Okay, I’ll allow that some people would be.

This is the way that I believe most aphrodisiacs operate. While I would never buy them for any of the listed claims of “instant, constant erotic arousal!”, I would buy for actual sensual aspects. With that in mind, the Museum of Sex in New York City sold chocolates infused with a 400-year-old Japanese aphrodisiac called, “Shichimi Togarashi”.

Photo from MoSex