Spices have long been revered for their power to increase virility or fertility, enhance sexual pleasure, or inspire fidelity.
Stories and legends from the past have informed us of various foods, herbs, plants and spices that seemed to act as performance enhancers. Regardless of their sources, collectively these compounds are known as aphrodisiacs, after the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite.
In Western culture, plants, roots, herbs and other substances reported to enhance sexual passion are met with general suspicion yet, today modern pharmaceutical companies capitalise on interest in aphrodisiacs with pills designed to enhance sexual response. Fortunately, research in this area is beginning to confirm some of the observations made by many herbal experts who, for centuries and millennia, have used roots, barks, leaves, herbs, and various plants of all sorts to enhance sexual experience and performance.
When considering their health benefits, a report on WebMD, by David Herber suggest that herbs and spices should be used at their peak to get the most out of them, as their active compounds degrade with time.
Herber further explains that studies show that many different herbs and spices offer health benefits, with most of the evidence existing for cinnamon, chili peppers, turmeric, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary.
Even films about food are designed to indulge your senses. Take the film, “The Mistress of Spices” as an example. The story is of a young girl, Tilo who was initiated as one of several young Mistresses of Spices by the First Mother, who warns the girls about certain rules they must follow, or face dire consequences. They are instructed never to leave their respective stores all around the world, physically touch the skin of the people they meet, or use the great and incomprehensible strength and power of the Spices to their own ends.
Her life takes a turn one day, when a young architect named Doug crashes his motorcycle outside her store. Tilo tends to his injuries while trying to ignore their mutual romantic attraction. Her life changes when he touches her and they begin to fall in love.
But the Spices are suddenly angry and jealous, and things soon start to go sour in her relationships with her other customers.
He goes all out to help her customers one last time and tells the Spices that she will spend just one night with Doug, and then she will give herself utterly to them. She closes the store and goes off with Doug for the night. After a night of love-making, she leaves him a note that she must leave and cannot return, but that she will always deeply love him. Then she goes back to the store and sets the Spices on fire, with her at the centre of the flames, as a sign of eternal servitude and slavery to the mystical Spices.
As darkly romantic as what this sounds, I felt inspired to stock every conceivable spice I could lay my hands on. I wanted to drown myself in those colours. The fragrance of a spice shop is enough to fill you with intense desire.
Whether you want to encourage a little extra “spice” in your boudoir or add more flavour to your edible creation, spices are a must-have in anyone’s kitchen. They brighten and liven up a meal and make your senses sizzle!
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