Food taunts lovers with results
By William Rudolph
Staff Reporter
Aphrodisiac, adj. 1. arousing
sexual desire, -n. 2. an aphrodisiac
agent, drug or food.
—The Random House Diction
ary.
Good looks, qualities, youth and
liberality are the chief and most
natural means of making a person
agreeable in the eyes of others. But
in the absence of these, a man or
woman must have resort to artifi
cial means.
—The Kama Sutra of Vatsyay
ana
Contrary to popular sayings,
music may not, in fact, be the food
of love.
Since ancient times, some lust
ful people have relied on certain
foods tnemselves for love — at
least in the more earthy senses of
the word.
Truly a category of exotic food
all their own, aphrodisiacs are an
edible form of what naughty cata
logs coyly call "sensual aids."
The word "aphrodisiac," in fact,
comes from Aphrodite, the Greek
goddess of love.
Aphrodisiacs have turned up
throughout the pages of literary
history, from "1001 N'ights" to the
Bible to Shakespeare, according to
Greg and Beverly Frazier in
"Aphrodisiac Cookery: Ancient
ana Modem" (Troubador Press,
1970).
Modem science, however, only
officially recognizes two true
aphrodisiacs: the dangerous Span
ish Fly, or cantharides, which comes
from the ground-up remains of
European blister beetles. Spanish
Fly irritates the sexual organs and
can be fatal even in small doses.
Yohimbine powder, from the bark
of the yohimbine tree, also has
received official notice.
Like sex itself, too much of this
also can kill.
But popular tradition gives erotic
powers to many other food items.
Besides keeping the doctor away,
apples may also do wonders for
the love life. After all, it was the
apple from the Tree of Knowledge
that spelled the end of earthly
paradise in Christian tradition.
According to John Milton in "Para
dise Lost," the first thing Adam
T
and Eve did after eating the apple
was the original wild tning.
"Aphrodisiac Cookery*' also
contains the erotic history of the
avocado. Apparently the Aztecs
originally called the fruit "ahua
catl," which translates into "tes
ticle."
Perhaps this is why avocados
cost so much in the supermarket.
Today, the potato is a staple of
our diet. But before its incarnation
as the french fry, in Early Modem
times, the potato was believed to
be a powerful aphrodisiac.
In fact, mandrake root, a dis
tant cousin of the lowly tuber,
figured prominently in many love
potions of the past. The Ancient
Egyptians even referred to it as
"The Phallus of the Field."
In "Romantic Meals for Lov
ers" (1988, Prima Publishing),
Gabrielle Kirschbaum lists several
other exotic aphrodisiacs, notably
ground rhinoceros horn and gin
seng.
The Kama Sutra, the famous
Classic Indian treatise on sexual
ity and civilization, lists several
sure-fire recipes for food to get
one in the mood.
Milk mixed with sugar, the root
of the uchchate plant and licorice
may be a stimulating tonic.
A ram or goat's testicle boiled
in milk mixed with sugar is sup
posed to evoke a rise from anyone
who sips it.
In addition, ghee (clarified
butter), honey, sugar, licorice,
fennel seed and milk mixed to
gether "is said to be holy and
provocative of sexual vigor; a
preservative of life and sweet to
the taste."
But before any would-be super
lovers dash off to the zoo to muti
late any rhinos, many common
herbs and spices have long been
linked to increased erotic appe
tite.
In fact, an everyday household
spice cabinet can contain all the
recipes for love anyone might need
for 1001 Nights of pleasure.
Curry powder, which irritates
the bladder and uro-genital tract,
tops the list and has long been a
staple of Indian cookery. Sesame,
coiander, cloves, celery, parsley,
sageand aniscalsohavc supposed
aphrodisiac powers. Not to be
forgotten is sweet basil, fenel seed
and saffron — which acts as a
powerful stimulant in a short story
by Anais Nin. . .
For the health-food minded, the
Fraziers include wheat germ, pine
nuts, honey, raisins and dates.
Last bu t not least, ga rl ic may do
wonders between the sheets, even
if vampires and breath may be
casualties.
Ken Johnson/Daily Nebraskan
And in Oriental cuisine, bird's
nest soup is in an erotic class by
itself. One aphrodisiac that has
long evoked consuming passions
is chocolate.
Throughout history, besides
being associated with acne by
woeful young lovers, chocolate lias
had its erotic side, according to
"Aphrodisiac Cookery."
When not occupied with avo
cados, Aztecs drank chocolate
toasts to the health of Xochiquetzal,
their equivalent of Aphroaite.
As late as the 1600s, the Catho
lic Church outlawed any forms of
chocolate. Apparently it was just
too stimulating.
Today, of course, chocolates are
associated with romantic love on
Valentine's Day. But any day of
the year, people with a passion for
chocolate can indulge in anything
from the simple Hershey oar to
expensive, mouth-watering li
queur-filled Godiva confections.
If flowers, candy, the promises
of a sincere, monogamous com
mitment, in-depth discussions of
past partners and a clean bill of
sexual health won't do it, perhaps
a trip to the cupboard or grocery
store can perk up things up.
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i i
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Health
Continued from Page 6
ach, wild mushroom, lemon and
pepper and saffron almost didn't
need a sauce.
The list of unusual products
crew as we continued up and down
the aisles— goat cheese and goat
milk, blue corn tortillas and spicy
blue tortilla chins, hand-cooked
potato chips and carrot "potato"
chips.
My shoppi ng li st grew as I stud
ied tne bins in the bulk food sec
tion, took a look at the organic
coffees and strolled through the
new deli and seafood counter in
the back.
Taking my reporting gear to
the car, 1 got the checkbook from
the car and headed for those little
voices coming from the glass cabi
net in the back of the store that
hadn't stopped calling since I
walked in.
Coffee
Continued from Page 6
walks of life filter into the area
stores.
Customers at The Mill and
Euphoria are mainly college stu
dents or professionals in their 30 s
and 40s.
"Anybody that drinks coffee
likes us," Didrichsons said.
The Perfect Cup caters to busi
ness people and also attracts out
of-town customers. Shriner said
the store's convenient location in
the Atrium's skywalk lures pas
sers-by to stop in for coffee to go.
Gourmet specialties are brew
ing up popularity because they
are a easy variation from every
day life.
"It's a change of pace. After
drinking Folgers for a long lime
it's nice to have a change," Snriner
said.
Euphoria Herbs is open 10 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Monday through Satur
day.
Hours at The Mill are 8 a.m. to
10 p.m. Monday through Thurs
day, 8 a.m. to midnignt Friday
and Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
on Sunday.
The Perfect Cup is open 7:30
a.m. to5:30 p.m. Monday though
Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
on Saturday.
Next Week:
Saint
Valentine's
Day
Massacre
