Sex sells. And nothing speaks to the sheer success of this advertising mantra quite like oysters. Because despite resembling wet loogies, these slippery, salty molluscs are considered the food du jour for a romantic night out. In fact, we’re so convinced that they’re vital tools of seduction that sales of oysters soar in the UK around Valentine’s Day. But that’s what the day has come to revolve around, along with chocolates, champagne, caviar and truffles. All are claimed to send us into a sexual stupor.
But just how lusty do these foods actually make us? Does science back up their titillating claims? It turns out: not really. Chocolate has the longest-running association with sex among the aforementioned Valentine’s staples, and is believed to have been an aphrodisiac among the Aztecs. Rumour had it that Aztec ruler Moctezuma consumed up to 50 mugs of the stuff a day – although historians believe this to be something of an over-exaggeration. Surely the only thing to be achieved from drinking that much chocolate is a Guinness World Record for time spent on the toilet. Still, there’s no doubt that our ancestors believed strongly in the erotic power of chocolate.
Food historian Samantha Bilton tells me that chocolate was primarily consumed back then as a holistic health drink – something “very bitter, [and] almost medicinal”, she says – rather than something to get you in the mood for love. It wasn’t until the 19th century that chocolate started being produced in a solid form, with the invention of milk chocolate arriving only in 1879.
“There are some studies that point to certain compounds in chocolate producing an aphrodisiac effect,” she says. But even then, these compounds don’t directly result in horniness – rather, they’re linked to chemicals that result in feelings of happiness, love and sexual desire. These are also found in such small concentrations in chocolate…
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