I had a hard time coming up with an ingredient to feature this month. I wanted to find something seasonal that captured a bit of the Holiday spirit. December is a month of comfort, not a month to go all obscure with ingredients. But as I went down my list of contenders, I realized that I’d featured all the best choices over the past six years of aphrodisiac of the month. I got to the end of my list without a single possibility and what did I find myself muttering, “Nuts!” And that is how, my friends, our Holiday Aphrodisiac of the Month came to be.
So many associations come to mind with the utterance of the word “nuts.” Perhaps that’s a part of what makes these hard-shelled fruits aphrodisiac.
That’s right, in botany nuts are actually dry fruit with one or, more rarely, two seeds. By this definition, some of my favorite nuts, like pistachios and almonds, are not actually nuts. But in the food world, we tend to consider most hard-walled, edible kernels as nuts.
Both true nuts and the imposters we like to enjoy as nuts are extremely nutritious and, in fact, can supply many of the essential nutrients for maintaining sexual health. Nutrition, obviously, varies by nut. In general, it’s believed that nut eaters live longer and may have a reduced risk of heart disease. (And as I once heard Dr. John Mulhall of NY Presbeterian’s Sexual Medicine Program point out—listen up men, “...what’s good for your heart is good for your penis.” (!)
It’s all because many nuts offer essential fatty acids and they’re loaded with nutrients like magnesium, selenium, B2 and Vitamin E, all of which are also key for a healthy sex life. (Vitamin E is even nicknamed “the sex vitamin.”) For sex vitamin seekers, consider eating more walnuts. The form of E found in walnuts is, according to World’s Healthiest Foods, a particularly beneficial form of this oh-so-stimulating nutrient.
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At this time of year, nuts are commonly mixed with spices, raising the aphrodisiac experience to even greater heights. Nuts tossed with chiles or any of the warming spices, like clove or cinnamon are even better bets for peaking a lover’s interest than cashews that stand alone. One of my favorite Holiday snacks to serve are the Hot Honey Nuts from my first book, Fork Me, Spoon Me. The recipe has your favorite selection of nuts harmonizing not only with the sweet nectar of Aphrodite but also kissed with chile to raise body temperature and get the blood pumping. Who can resist the offering of sweet-hot nuts on a cold winter’s night?
hot honey nuts
from Fork Me, Spoon Me: the sensual cookbook
3 T honey
2 c mixed, salted nuts
11/2 t butter
1/2 t dried chile flakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in a small saucepan while slowly dribbling honey with the chile flakes into the steamy pot. Boil gently for 2 minutes, being careful not to scorch your honey.
Pour honey over your nuts on a foil-lined baking sheet. Fold up the edges of the foil to prevent your sweet honey from oozing all over the oven. (Warning: The honey mixture will be very hot. Do not touch anything with your hands or you’ll find yourself sucking your own finger the rest of the night.)
Roast in oven for 8-10 minutes and flip nuts halfway through. Take your nuts from the tray and allow them to cool for 20 minutes before eating. Clean the tray immediately or the sticky residue will be with you forever.
