The idea that gastronomy and sex are related is not new. It’s been expressed through art, literature, early science, in locker rooms, beauty salons and on the street. Some examples of these expressions are included as context for the aphrodisiac recipes which follow. For millennia, cooks have prepared dishes enriched with ingredients they judged to be sensually invigorating, and this tradition continues today. Some approaches are humorous, while others are doubting and satirical. Yet others are ponderously medical. This book is none of the above. It offers an anthropological approach to the spicy life of love and food which includes cross-cultural, historical and current views. It is the kind of natural history which consists of culinary history and recipes in equal measure. After all, the mind - which is perhaps the most potent aphrodisiac - should be cultivated in equal measure to the body which is physically stirred by erotic passion.
