5 aphrodisiac ingredients to cook on Valentine’s day

Honey the aphrodisiac ingredient for valentine's day

It’s that time of the year when love is in the air, why don’t we cook some aphrodisiac ingredients? The current context has made it more difficult to find what to do for Valentine’s day dinner. While my husband would argue that it’s a commercially fabricated holiday, I have always loved this special day! My mum would always buy me a teddy bear or chocolates on Valentine’s day.

 

However, let’s remember that Valentine’s day is a celebration of lovers that has existed many centuries ago. The traditional way to celebrate it is to go for, or prepare a romantic dinner. In modern days, the trend has escalated to Valentine’s weekend trips, a sort of romantic getaway. But at the end of the day, what better way to celebrate Valentine’s day than making love?

 

This leads me to the topic of the hour! What are the known ingredients to prepare you for what comes after the bountiful meal?

Aphrodidiac Ingredient 1: Chocolate

Aphrodisiac ingredients for valentine's day

Chocolate results from the ground, and roasted cacao seeds transformed into a liquid, a block, or paste. It was initially discovered 4000 years ago in Mexico and is today also widely planted in West Africa. This delicacy is the most famous gift for Valentine’s day. Often presented in a red gift box and accompanied with flowers and a bottle of wine, you can never go wrong with this sweet treasure.

You’ve probably heard dark chocolate is very good for health, significantly improves your sleep, reduces your cardiovascular episode, and is an anti-depressor. As part of its benefits, it also increases dopamine levels, which is the hormone in charge of sexual pleasure!

With chocolate, you could simply go for squares that you buy or that you make yourself, dip strawberries in melted chocolate, or bake an entire dessert! I would recommend a chocolate fondant to share with your loved one. There is something symbolic about melted chocolate, like a heart that is melting of love!

Aphrodisiac ingredient 2: Ginger

Ginger the aphrodisiac ingredient for valentine's day

Ginger is a root, so obviously grows underground. I remember my mum use to store ginger by planting it in soil next to her flowers! Inside, ginger has a yellow color with a lot of fibers. It can be consumed raw or cooked, in a paste, sliced, or powdered. It’s used as a seasoning and also as a medication. It was initially found in Southeast Asia but is now available all over.

 

Ginger is also very known in a lot of cultures as an aphrodisiac. This is very interesting to me since, in Africa, most of the seasoning contains ginger. Does it mean Africans are always on heat?

Because ginger improves the blood flow and circulation naturally, it, therefore, improves your sexual performance!

Although ginger can be included in almost every dish as a spice, I highly advise trying out the honey ginger lemon tea! My mother used to prepare it for us whenever we were sick growing up (check out my photoshoot on this topic here).

Aphrodisiac Ingredient 3: Saffron

Saffron the aphrodisiac ingredient for valentine's day

Saffron is a spice composed of yellow and red threads found in the middle of a flower called crocus sativus or saffron crocus. It’s used for spicing and coloring food. What makes this spice very special is that it takes 1000 flowers to harvest an ounce! Yes, you guessed right, it’s very expensive!

The first time I tried saffron was in Risotto. It brought this beautiful yellow color to the dish. Later on, I learned it could also be added to Paella, which was a surprise to me. I used it for my saffron pasta meatball dish to make it pop!

Although saffron does not increase desire, it does improve sexual dysfunctions. I used saffron to color my pasta, but it could also be used for rice, bread, or even deserts just to bring a little bit of color to your dish!

Aphrodisiac ingredient 4: Oyster

Oyster the aphrodisiac ingredient for valentine's day

We all know Oyster is a seafood that has to be opened and swallowed raw. It tastes even better when you add a little sauce made with vinegar and shallots. For me, they is no better way to enjoy them!

 

Oysters indeed contain zinc and amino acids that increase the production of testosterone that could affect sexual desires. However, it has not officially been proven, and most people believe it has a lot to do with the sensual gesture when eating an oysters.

Aphrodisiac ingredient 5: Honey

Honey the aphrodisiac ingredient for valentine's day

We all know honey is the dark brown and goldish secretion produced by bees from the flowers’ nectar. But I have never heard of its aphrodisiac benefits. It seems to be more historical than anything. After all, don’t we call the newlyweds getaway a honeymoon? Milk and honey were mentioned in the Bible when referring to the abundance of blessings and fertility.  Hippocrates did prescribe it to increase sexual vigor!

 

Honey is, of course, one of the ingredients in the honey ginger lemon tea, that is one easy drink you could prepare with it. You could also use it to replace sugar in any of your preparations. But I love to use it to glaze my carrots and sweet potatoes.

You now have all the ingredients you need to get ready for a sweet and sensual after-dinner with your lover! Start with some oysters! Then prepare a main dish that would contain saffron and glazed honey vegetables. Finish with a chocolate dessert, yummy right? And if ever your are still having doubts, you can always try out three staycation food ideas!

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