Do Aphrodisiacs Really Exist?

The other day, when I told my boyfriend, Sean, that I was going to be doing a little research on aphrodisiacs, he was surprisingly keen to help out. “I’ll buy the bacon,” he said.

“Bacon is not an aphrodisiac,” I said.

“Wanna bet?” he challenged.

Sean loves bacon—and, come to think of it, it did seem to put him in the mood for love. (On reflection, I realized that I had unconsciously begun incorporating it into more and more meals, wrapping thin strips around chunks of cod and adding crispy bits to pasta sauces).

But can food produce sexual desire? Or, to put it another way, do aphrodisiacs actually exist? Many people think so. An online poll conducted by sex therapist Linda De Villers found that strawberries, ice cream, pasta, and whipped cream are the four foods most commonly associated with lust. But according to Martha Hopkins, coauthor of The New InterCourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook, there are no real aphrodisiacs. “Still,” she laughs, “whatever makes you groan when you eat it counts.”