Ligurian Food Views

General Goods

Throughout the ligurian history, aphrodisiac foods have been believed to increase sexual desire. But, letw’s start with the most famous of the ligurian foods, focaccia and principally with the m“focaccia with onion ”. There’s a legend about the “focaccia with onion” and I believe this story is somewhat funny: it tells us that it was born as a deterrent for unfaithful husbands. In a remote past, Genovese housewives which were married to sailors were used to prepare for their own men this typical Genovese, “focaccia” in the hope to render their breath so unbearable to stand to possible rivals which they could’ve met in any docked harbor.

Among other ligurian foods of love, there ’s also the renowned pesto sauce: for centuries ligurian sailors have been involuntary the main p“means ” of exchange between the different cuisines of the Mediterranean area. In every port they used to taste different dishes and carry spices and different products on their ships. But, when they were back home, sailors housewives gathered basil leaves from their gardens and prepared, with pine nuts and garlic cloves (known for their aphrodisiac properties), the famous pesto sauce for them. It was in that moment that sailors, known as rude men, became sweet and curios of new sensation of love. In fact, women believed that the fragrance and the ingredients of pesto aroused romantic and tender feelings in their husbands.

In 1980 at the Italian Fancy Food Show in New York, the genoese pesto sauce appeared for the first time and had immediately success among anglo-saxons especially because they found that the pesto sauce had even an aphrodisiac stimulus. The Artichokes Pie, a famous ligurian dish, was known for its aphrodisiac properties. In fact, in the 16th century artichokes were thought to enhance sexual power. For this reason artichoke was reserved only for men. Women were denied the pleasure!

Finally, ligurians are known for their seafood dishes. As known, fish/seafood (this comes form the symbolism of Venus stepping from her half-shell) are high-octane aphrodisiacs. The ancient world believed seafood had aphrodisiac qualities because Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love was born of sea foam. (Aphrodite = aphrodisiac).