Sensual Flavors, Textures and Aromas
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When you look into your lover’s eyes in the candlelight, with soft music, you smell the rich aroma coming from the dinner table of a crispy parmesan bread crumb topping that just got done browning to perfection in the oven. Then taste the wonderful lingering flavors of a creamy stuffed Halibut that just melts in your mouth, then the flavors of a crisp chardonnay to cleanse the palate. When your emotions of love mingle with the flavors together you have experienced the marriage of food and romance. One heightens the experience of the other and can become a fond memory and a bond with that special someone.
Consider what you call sensual in the physical aspect of romantic love. Then think about the correlation to tasting, smelling and the textures of foods. |
That is one reason a fresh oyster on the half-shell is considered aphrodisiac. Most likely because they resemble certain shall we say, anatomical parts that we touch in the act of love. They do contain lots of zinc which aids in testosterone production, but so do many foods. More likely it is their textures, flavors and aromas that provoke aphrodisiac qualities on a more psychological level. There are so many foods that down through the ages have been thought of as love –foods or aphrodisiacs. They are even doing tests on foods now to see what increases love responses in people, such as those done by Dr. Alan Hirsch at the Smell and Taste Treatment and taste Research foundation in Chicago. One of the aromas and flavors that have been shown to increase a love response is vanilla.
When preparing a romantic meal I don’t think that the focus needs to be on fancy or exotic. As you look through recipe books you find something with a fun twist to it, but maybe you haven’t worked with capers before, or put raspberry sauce over salmon. This can make for a less than desirable result unless you have experience at balancing all these flavors.
A great romantic meal can be some very simple foods or a dish that you really love, add some romantic ideas to the presentation and atmosphere and I guarantee it will be a winner. I have learned over the years cooking thousands of meals and designing hundreds of menus that simple foods area almost always the best.
Examples of flavors that can accent sensuality
Flavors,
these are hard to describe, like you would the color blue.
Delicate flavor of vanilla
Lusty flavor of chocolate
Tangy fresh Lemon
Earthy mushroom
The Rich flavor of a beef reduction with red wine or demi-glace
Textures,
Silky smooth Textures , such as a light cream sauce, Hollandaise sauce, chocolate mousse, crème brulee
Creamy textures like mashed potatoes, whipped light as a feather.
Fresh Oysters bbqed on the half shell
Seafood Gumbo with a dark roux,
Biting into a crisp –tender asparagus spear that has been dipped in butter
Chocolate that melts as soon as it hits your tongue and covers it
Aromas ,
The smell of fresh bread baking
The smell of Pumpkin Pie right out of the oven
The smell of prawns sautéing in butter and garlic
The smell of meat smoking over hickory
Fresh Bacon cooking on a campfire
Coffee brewing first thing in the morning
Famous Love Foods ,
Artichokes...Asparagus...Avocado...Basil...Black
Beans...Chocolate...Chilies...Coffee...Figs...Grapes...Honey...Oysters
Pine nuts...Rosemary...Strawberries...
But what historical significance that certify some of these foods as true aphrodisiacs or “ Love Foods”?
Chocolate,
The potency of chocolate was first discovered by the Mayan and Aztec Indians in their celebration of the harvest of the cocoa bean with festivals of orgies. Montezuma, the Aztec ruler supposedly drank 50 cups of chocolate each day to satisfy his harem of 600 women. Casanova adored chocolate, and so do we. Sales in the 1990¹s average 600,000 tons of cocoa consumed each year. Chocolate has sparked the attention of scientists as well. This decadent candy contains phenyl ethylamine (PEA) which is the very same chemical that flows through the vein of someone who is in love. Why tamper with this ancient love potion?
Figs,
A small, pear-shaped delicacy, a ripe fig tastes sweeter than any dried one, a fresh plump fig smells better than any syrupy canned version. A knife slices through it like butter, the edible seeds are endless through eachlayer filed with succulent flavor. Figs date back to Cleopatra, Dionysian orgies, and the Roman Saturnalia. This innocent natural sensuality can work wonders prepared various ways.
Oysters,
The greatest of all aphrodisiacs, oysters symbolize vitality and passion forall those who indulge. Since the time of the Roman Empire oysters have enjoyed a randy reputation, which has only increased over time. What is it about oysters? Casanova is said to have been a firm believer in oysters, eating 50 raw ones every morning in the bath with the lady he fancied at that moment. Oysters have unleashed their powers of seduction on unwitting prey and restores life to lagging libidos. Why do oysters have such an effect on people? Oysters are loaded with zinc, a key ingredient to testosterone production, and therefore sexual performance for both genders. Or is it the texture that resembles parts of the anatomy that are touched in the act of love.
Pine Nuts:
Pine nuts, also called Pignolis, come from the inside the cones of the pine trees. Galen, a 2nd century doctor, prescribed them to his patients for their reported powers. Today, people hail the pine nut as the kernel of love.
Rosemary:
The scent of rosemary fills a room, and entices the sense of smell.
Medieval women scented bath water with rosemary to allure men. Apparently, rosemary plays on humans scent memory the strongest tie to emotional experiences. If executed properly, a Pavlovian call to love might occur from simply a whiff of this potent herb.
Honey:
From the Kama Sutra to the Perfumed Garden to the Bible, honey has been connected with love, sex and sensuality since the beginning of time. Hippocrates prescribed honey for sexual vigor. In India, tradition states that an offering of honey be presented to the bridegroom and hide out in seclusion drinking the honey potion until the first new moon of their
marriage. Attila the Hun drank himself to death with honey on his honeymoon. The very word conjures up images of the dripping, sticky substance, of honeybees, and all things sweet.
