[Sca-cooks] Aphrodisiac foods

[Christine Seelye-King]

Do we have any info, or are there published resources, on what types of food
were considered aphrodisiacs in period?

Petru

We've had this conversation before, when I posted this list the first time.
At the time, there were a couple of other suggestions, none of them period,
and the entire discussion turned to the chemical properties involved in
creating that particular smell in your urine when you eat asparagus.
	So, here is the list of aphrodesiac foods I've got.
	Mistress Christianna

While perusing the "Book of Lists" the other day (my lord wanted me to read
Benjamin Franklin's 8 Reasons To Marry An Older Woman), I came across the
list of:

10 Foods Claimed To Be Aphrodisiacs

1. Asparagus.
	Asparagus contains a diuretic that increases the amount of urine excreted
and excites the urinary passages. The vegetable is rich in potassium,
phosphorus, and calcium - all necessary for maintenance of a high energy
level.  However, it also contains aspartic acid, which neutralizes excess
amounts of ammonia in one's body and may cause apathy
and sexual disinterest.

2. Caviar
	In addition to being nutritious (30% protein), caviar has been considered
an aphrodisiac because of its obvious place in the reproductive process.
All fish and their by-products have been linked to the myth of Aphrodite,
the goddess of love who was born from the foam of the sea.  Supposedly,
anything that came from the sea would partake of Aphrodite's power.

3. Eel
	Eel, like most fish, is rich in phosphorus and has an excitant effect on
the bladder.  In addition to its general associations with the aphrodisiac
effect of fish, it has probably been favored as and aphrodisiac because of
its phallic appearance.

4. Garlic
	Both Eastern and Western cultures have long regarded garlic as an
aphrodisiac.   The Greeks and Romans sang its praises and oriental lovers
claimed to be towers of strength because of eating it.

5. Ginseng
	The Chinese call ginseng the "elixir of life" and have used it for over
5,000 years.  Although medical opinion is sharply divided as to its merits,
recent Russian experiments claim that ginseng increases sexual energy and
has a general healing and rejuvenating influence on the body.


6. Honey
	Honey is highly nutritious and rich in minerals, amino acids, enzymes,
and B-complex vitamins.  Galen, Ovid, and Sheikh Nefzawi, author of "The
Perfumed Garden", believed that honey has outstanding aphrodisiac powers.


7. Lobster
	The lobster has been described as an amatory excitant by many writers,
including Henry Fielding in "Tom Jones".  In addition, it shares the
Aphrodite-derived power attributed to all seafood.

8. Oysters
	Oysters are one of the most renowned aphrodisiac foods.  Like other
seafood, they are rich in phosphorus.  Although they are not a high source
of energy, oysters are easily digestible.  Among the eminent lovers who have
vouched for oysters was Casanova, who called them "a spur to the spirit and
to love."

9. Peaches
	"Venus owns this tree... the fruit provokes lust..." wrote herbalist
Nicholas Culpepper.  The Chinese considered the fruit's sweet juices
symbolic of the effluvia of the vagina, and both the Chinese and Arabs
regard its deep fur-edged cleft as symbolic of the female genitalia.  A
"peach house" was once a common English slang term for a house of
prostitution, and the term "peach" has been used almost universally to
describe a pretty or sexually appealing girl.

10. Truffles
	Truffles, the expensive underground fungi, are similar to oysters in that
they are composed mostly of water and are rich in protein. Rabelais,
Casanova, George Sand, Sade, Napoleon, and Mme. Pompadour are a few of the
many notables who have praised the truffle's aphrodesiac powers,  An ancient
French proverb  warns "Those who wish to lead virtuous lives should abstain
from truffles."

Contributed to "The Book of Lists" by Robert Hendrickson
"The Book of Lists" by David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace
Bantam Edition, February 1978

Christianna