Roman emporers bartered them, weight by weight, for gold. Montreal's Ilene Polansky serves them in a shooter - a love potion - floating in cocktail sauce, fresh horseradish and vodka. And today, as in the Netherlands' "Golden 17th Century," they are the incarnation and king of aphrodisiacs.
Blessed are the oysters. Ever since Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, sprang forth from the sea on an oyster shell as if on a flying carpet, love-starved individuals down through the centuries have considered oysters as their magic carpet to sexual prowess and eternal love.
Oysters, however, are only the forefathers of aphrodisiacs; with the globalization of cookery and the exploration of once-obscure communities, more and more local aphrodisiac ingredients are emerging, some originating from unremarkable plants and animals. A search on Amazon.com, the Internet's largest bookshop, yielded 41 books on sale containing aphrodisiac recipes.
The list of aphrodisiac ingredients reads like the list of trophies that might be amassed by a hunter and explorer. Leeks. Black ants. Asparagus. Lizards. Celery. Leeches. Tiger parts. Pine nuts. King eiders in Greenland. Truffles. Whales' "ambergris." Snake blood. Radishes. Hemp seed.
Most aphrodisiac foods fall into two broad categories. The first category is based along the belief of traditional societies' "law of similarity." Think of the Rhino horn or deers' antlers or animal genitalia in general - all considered aphrodisiacs because they look like aroused human genitalia, especially men's. The second category encompasses those foods that nourish our sexually-obsessed imagination: hot and spicy foods, including pepper and ginger and garlic and nutmeg and saffron and cardamom, because they trigger a physiological response akin to sexual arousal, panting, flushing, eyes watering. However, this is nothing but wishful-thinking, as sexual as the sexual fire of people at the gym, heaving, groaning, gasping, wiggling their wobbly body parts.
So like Aphrodite herself, aphrodisiac foods are simply superstition and legend. No scientific proof backs the proclaimed aphrodisiac properties.
John Renner, founder of the US Consumer Health Information Research Institute, says: "The mind is the most potent aphrodisiac there is. It's very difficult to evaluate something someone is taking because if you tell them it's an aphrodisiac, the hope of a certain response might actually lead to an additional sexual reaction."
The United States Food and Drug Administration goes a step further: they send legally threatening letters to companies advertising aphrodisiacs.
Dismiss aphrodisiac foods then? I use aphrodisiac ingredients frequently, because they are some of the tastier ingredients. And some are expensive delicacies: I wish I could afford oysters or snails or truffles more often. Which would-be lover would not warm up over a romantic dinner of truffles and oysters?
One way to a lover's heart, and bed, is through his/her mouth. A candle-lit, music-in-the-background dinner accompanied by wine is the perfect opening to an intimate evening. The act of eating good food together - eating being a hedonistic indulgence, whether aphrodisiac or not - is like foreplay.
A Dinner for Two:
Dinner 1
Starter: Asparagus and Prosciutto: 8 spears asparagus; 4 cuts prosciutto (Parma ham); roasted pine nuts; vinegar; olive oil. Roll the asparagus (4 for each helping) in the prosciutto, and serve, wetted with olive oil and vinegar and sprinkled with roasted pine nuts.
First Course: Pine Nut Soup: 100g pine nuts; 3 egg yolks; 250ml chicken stock; 250ml cream; few strands of saffron; pinch cayenne pepper or ground chili. Blend the pine nuts, egg yolks, stock and cream in a food processor. Pour in a pan and add the saffron and pepper. Heat gently.
Main Course: Love Snails: 25 to 50 snails depending on size; 2 medium tomatoes, chopped; a twig of celery, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; few strands saffron; pinch sage and thyme; 1/4 cup olive oil. Mix all the ingredients except the snails. Place the snails in an oven dish, cover with the mixture and bake in a preheated 260oC oven until vegetables start to brown, about 10 minutes.
Main Course Accompaniment: Spicy fried Potatoes: 3 potatoes cubed into 2-inch dice; medium onion, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; 1 tablespoon chopped ginger; 1 fresh red chilli, chopped; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 2 tablespoons pine nuts, roasted; 1/2 cup olive oil; pinch nutmeg. Boil the potatoes in water until tender (al dente) and drain. In a frying pan, heat the oil on high, add the onion, garlic, cumin seeds, chilli and ginger, and fry, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add a pinch of nutmeg and the potatoes and continue frying one high heat, stirring frequently, until the potatoes start to turn golden. Just before serving stir the pine nuts into the dish.
Main Course Accompaniment: Spicy Fried Mushrooms: 200 grams button mushrooms; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; 1 tablespoon chopped ginger; pinch ground chilli; 2 tablespoons olive oil. Heat oil in a frying pan on high heat. Pour all the ingredients and cook, stirring, on high heat until the mushrooms change colour (about 4 minutes).
Dessert: Chocolate-dipped Grand Marnier Strawberries: 300g fresh strawberries; 200g bittersweet chocolate, broken into chunks; 1 tablespoon solid white vegetable shortening; 1/2 cup Grand Marnier liquor; wrap pieces of styrofoam in plastic wrap for fruit to rest and drip on. You can also use any firm-fleshed fruit, such as cantelope or orange halves. Pour about 1 inch of water into bottom of a double-boiler and heat to hot but not simmering. Melt chocolate and shortening in top of double-boiler, stirring occasionally until completely melted and smooth. Remove top pot and place on a heat-safe tripod. Let cool for about 5 minutes. While chocolate cools a bit, carefully spear strawberries with toothpicks. Working quickly, swirl each strawberry gently in the chocolate about halfway up the fruit and place inverted on toothpicks into the styrofoam to cool and harden. When done, place in refrigerator to further set chocolate shell. When completely hardened, use a syringe to carefully inject a bit of the liquor into the center of each strawberry, being careful not to over-fill.
Dinner 2
Starter: Asparagus and Smoked Salmon: 8 spears asparagus; 4 slices smoked salmon; 2 tablespoons black caviar; 2 wedges of lemon; vinegar; olive oil. Roll the asparagus (4 for each helping) in the smoked salmon, and serve, wetted with olive oil and vinegar and lemon and sprinkled with caviar.
First Course: Fennel Soup with Shrimp: 500g of fennel bulb; 200ml dry white wine; 100g shrimps; 200ml chicken stock; 125ml sour cream; 2 tablespoons ouzo. Trim the fennel leaves and set aside. Dice the fennel bulb and boil it in the wine, water and the stock until tender. Blend the mixture. Return to pan and stir in the shrimps, simmering for an additional 5 minutes. Add the sour cream, ouzo and chopped fennel leaves and reheat.
Main Course: Oysters with lemon wedges: 6 oysters; 1 lemon cut into wedges; ice cubes; vinegar, to taste (optional). Serve the raw, shelled oysters on a bed of ice with three lemon wedges and vinegar to taste. To eat the oysters open shells, sprinkle lemon juice and vinegar to taste and scoop them straight into your mouth.
Main Course Accompaniment: Spicy Marinated Mushrooms: 200g button mushrooms; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup white wine vinegar; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary; 1 teaspoon chopped chili. In a bowl mix all ingredients together except the mushrooms. Pour the mix over the mushrooms, stir well, cover and refrigerate for a day, stirring occasionally. Serve at room temperature.
Main Course Accompaniment: Baked garlic: 6 cloves garlic; 3 tablespoons olive oil. Boil the whole unpeeled cloves for 4 minutes. Drain and reserve a cup of the liquid. Place the garlic in an oven, heated at 150oC, wet the garlic with the olive oil and some of the liquid. Bake until the garlic is soft inside, about 30 minutes, and bask occasionally with the reserved liquid. Serve at room temperature.
Main Course Accompaniment: Baked Black Olives: 2 lemons; 100g black olives; 1 cup red wine; 1 finely sliced sun-dried tomato; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; pinch mixed herbs. Cut lemons in half. Place all ingredients in an ovenproof dish, stir, cover and bake in a 180oC oven for 20 minutes.Serve at room temperature.
Dessert: Chocolate-dipped Grand Marnier Strawberries: See Above, Dinner 1.
© Victor Paul Borg
Originally published August 2005 - "Sultry, Sexy Summer"