Scottish food to boost your love life

THEY are the Scottish aphrodisiacs and now we know why they might work.

A new Aphrodisiacs Encyclopaedia published this week explains the science behind the allegedly libidinous qualities of three Scottish foods: Dunlop cheese, sea urchins and traditional porridge oats.

Author Mark Douglas Hill, an Edinburgh psychology graduate, says Scotland has its fair share of dishes that lead to love. Dunlop cheese, made in Ayrshire since the 17th century from unskimmed milk, owes its reputation to unusually-high magnesium levels in the local salt.

The encyclopedia notes the “cheese not only boasts an all-star line-up of phenylethylamine, PEA casein, histamine tryptophan and magnesium [chemicals that boost feelings of well-being], but also sweetens the saliva to make ready for a spot of smooching”. PEA triggers the release of the pleasure-craving chemical dopamine.

Sea urchins, harvested on the west coast and prized for their roe, are rich in libido-enhancing iodine, zinc, phosphorus and potassium. They are also the only identified food source containing anandamide, which acts on the brain like cannabis and, according to Douglas Hill, brings on “intense feelings of pleasure”.

Meanwhile, although oats are “unlikely to wow with exoticism” they have long been associated with virility, whether eaten as porridge, oatcakes or cranachan. The extract of green oat straw apparently frees up testosterone “in both men and women”.

Douglas Hill, 33, who trained at the prestigious Leiths School of Food and Wine, said that while Scotland’s somewhat harsh climate meant there were less exotic foods around, the trick was to concentrate on the excellent products which were available and use them imaginatively.

“I’ve been looking at all the aphrodisiacs around the world and researching how to bring out their seductive characteristics,” he said.

“Instead of just going to a supermarket and buying the foods I’ve mentioned and just serving them up, I’d advise thinking carefully about the setting in which they are eaten. The approaching dark nights offer up elements of ‘hibernation’, which add a different style of sensory luxury.

“I’d try a cosy cottage on the west coast of Scotland, with a loch and with no-one within earshot rather than a rushed weekend away in a city hotel and then I’d try a tactile way of eating, such as using my fingers.”

Farmer Ann Dorward of West Clerkland Farm near Stewarton, Ayrshire, who has been using the traditional hand-pressing method to produce limited quantities of the artisan Dunlop cheese for 20 years, said: “I’ve heard the stories and people joking about the cheese. It’s a good laugh and it makes it a bit special, but I’d say it’d only work for you if you wanted it to work.”

The Aphrodisiac Encyclopedia, is published on 20 October by Square Peg, Random House, £9.99.