Interestingly, many vegetables that should be familiar to modern readers have in the past been credited as having libido increasing powers. Even potatoes have been believed to possess aphrodisiacal properties (although that belief only prevailed when potatoes were scarce and expensive). Thus, in Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor”, Falstaff beseeches the sky “to rain potatoes” for this reason. Potato peels can sometimes contain a considerable level of alkaloids, which in turn could give rise to some physiological effects. Possibly this is part of the reason behind the fad for serving fried potato skins.
Asparagus: Asparagus officinalis, belongs to the lily family (Liliaceae), and was cultivated by the Greeks. According to Arab sources, the asparagus should first be boiled in water, then briefly fried in fat and sprinkled with condiments to provide a powerful aphrodisiac; caution might be advised, since Quensel (1809) states that asparagus turns men on but women off. Its main action is diuretic, and the stimulating effect on the male genitals is a consequence of this.
Celery: Apium graveolens, has a long history of use as an aphrodisiac, and several cultivated varieties exist, including Pascal celery, cultivated for the stalks, and celeriac or celery root, grown for the root. The stalks can be eaten raw, boiled or braised, whereas the root is best peeled, julienned and blanched.
The Swedish cookery book author C.E. Hagdahl, in his “Cooking as Science and Art” (1879), claims that celery contributes to stimulation of digestion, and is also suspected to be somewhat sexually enhancing, although these effects can be reduced by boiling.
There is also an old Ukrainian saying: “If your husband is old and weak you must have him to drink juice from two big carrots and a stick of celery”. Celery is a very popular folk aphrodisiac in Poland and the Czech Republic, possibly due to the “doctrine of similarities”.
Garlic: Allium sativum, belongs to the same genus as another supposed reliable aphrodisiac, onion. Its use as a staple food during Ancient Egyptian times is mentioned in the Bible (Numbers, chapter 11). Hippocrates suggests garlic as a remedy for a variety of illnesses, including fevers, flu and intestinal parasites.
Its use as an aphrodisiac is (or was) widespread, not only among Egyptians, but also among Greeks, Romans, Chinese and Japanese (Ainu). The Swedish pharmaceutical chemist Matts Bergmark quotes in “Vallört och vitlök” (1961) the East German pharmaceutical journal Die Pharmazie, saying that garlic is especially well suited for men and women of climacteric age, because it contains (unspecified) compounds related to sex hormones.
In some cases garlic is used externally: David Berman, a professor of the USC Medical School, suggests a few cloves of garlic be crushed and mixed with lard, the mixture then to be rubbed on to the unwilling male member.
Possibly, most of the aphrodisiacal effects of garlic are due to the fact that it makes food more appetising, stimulates the secretion of gastric juices, increases the appetite and generally contributes to a feeling of well-being.
Ginger: Throughout Asia, from China to Turkey, ginger has a solid reputation as being a powerful aphrodisiac, it was known to Pliny and Avicena. “The Perfumed Garden”, a sixteenth century Arab erotic manual written by Sheik al-Nefzawi, strongly favours the use of ginger both externally and internally. One recipe calls for a mixture of ginger, ointment of lilac and pyrethrum (from the plant Anthemis pyrethrum) to be pounded and then used for rubbing the abdomen, the scrotum and the anus.
An alternative is to chew a mixture of ginger, cinnamon, pyrethrum and cubebs just before sex, then moisten the penis with saliva before intercourse. “From that moment she will have such affection for you that she can scarcely be a moment without you”. Indian literature recommends a mixture of ginger juice, honey and half-boiled eggs, taken at night for a month, as a remedy against impotence.
Ginger consists of the dried rhizomes of Zingiber officinale (Zingiberaceae). The active compounds are called gingerols, with the most important being [6]-gingerol, 5-hydroxy-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-decanone.
Onions: Have been attributed aphrodisiacal properties, since prehistoric times. They are mentioned in many classic Hindu texts on the art of making love, and were the most used aphrodisiac in ancient Greece, as well as being frequently included as an ingredient in Roman and Arab recipes. Celibate Egyptian priests were not allowed to eat onions because of their potential effects, and in France, newlyweds were served onion soup on the morning after their wedding night to restore their libido.
Ovid, in “Ars Amatoria” (book 2), suggests: “Let white onions be taken that are sent from the Pelasgian city of Alcathous.” The Romans seldom used onions alone and usually only after cooking; thus Apicus in “De re coquinaria” includes onions cooked in water and mixed with pine seeds. One exception is the recommendation of the Roman epigrammatist Martial: “If your wife is old and your member is exhausted, eat onions in plenty.”
“The Perfumed Garden” also bears a testimony to onions, “The member of Abou el-Heiloukh has remained erect for thirty days without a break because he ate onions.” More specifically, he ate onions cooked with meat and, for drink, had the juice pressed out of pounded onions mixed with honey. The same source suggests an even more powerful preparation: Take one part of the juice pressed out of pounded onions and mix it with two parts of purified honey. Heat the mixture until the water of the onion juice has evaporated, and let the residue cool - to be used whenever required. The Sheik warns (or promises?) that a man using this concoction for several consecutive days will constantly have his member rigid and erect without intermission. Furthermore, he notes that the medicine should never be used for three consecutive days, except by old and cold-tempered men.
Onion, as well as garlic, contains the amino acid alliin and the related allicin (CH2=CH-CH2-SO-CH2-CH=CH2). Alliin, which is devoid of any odour or taste, can be transformed into allicin by the enzyme allinase. Whenever an onion (or garlic) is crushed this enzyme is released from the plant tissue and starts to enact the transformation. It is allicin which causes the “true” garlic odour. No aphrodisiacal properties have (yet) been demonstrated, but the compound makes a good antibiotic.
Shiitake: The shiitake mushroom, Lentinula edodes, consists of large, tawny, parasol-shaped caps with a cream-coloured inside and a delicious smoky flavour. It has a reputation of being a useful aphrodisiac even when eaten alone, but especially in combination with game.
Truffles: Were well known to the Romans as a powerful aphrodisiac. Book VII of Apicus’ “De re coquinaria” mainly deals with delicacies believed to have aphrodisiacal properties, and includes six ways of preparing truffles. Most highly rated were the Libyan truffles, although also much appreciated were truffles from Cyrene and Thrakia. Pliny speculates about the origin of truffles and assumes they might be the result of a thunderbolt.
However, with the fall of the Roman Empire, the magic properties of truffles were lost until rediscovery in the late eighteenth century. This time interest focussed on the French truffles, Tuber melanosporum, and the erotic powers attributed to them were remarkable.
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, in “La Physiologie du Goût” (published 1825, one year before his death at an age of 71 years) devotes six pages to the erotic properties of truffles. He details an example of how a lady narrowly escaped being seduced by a guest whom she had fed a hen stuffed with truffles, and he concludes “Truffles are no perfect aphrodisiac, but in certain cases they can make women more yielding and men more amiable”.
Posted by Jonathan in Biology, Sociology