Jan 21, 2019 3 min read

It’s not every day that I look up the word “aphrodisiac.” But last week found me searching for the word online, prompted by an article in the United Kingdom tabloid “The Mirror”: “Aphrodisiac crisps are now a thing – and they have ‘provocative’ effect on body.”

Let me briefly explain to those who have never watched British TV: “Crisps” is what citizens of the U.K. call potato chips. The practice began to avoid confusion with what they call french-fried potatoes, which is “chips.” This is rumored to have been one of the causes of the Revolutionary War. There still is a scholarly debate about where the term “french fries” originated. Some say in Belgium, some say in France.

Whatever the origin, in 1802 President Thomas Jefferson asked the White House chef to prepare “potatoes served in the French manner” for a dinner party. We can only assume this did not mean that Jefferson had the chef serve while dressed in a skimpy French maid’s outfit. The president described these as “potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small cuttings.” There is no record of whether Jefferson also asked his chef to prepare 1,000 hamberders.

In deference to readers who saw the word “aphrodisiac” at the top of the column and started reading, thinking I’d be writing about sex, I will now step out of the kitchen and into the boudoir. Where we’ll talk more about food.

The U.K. firm Tyrrell’s Potato Crisps Ltd. last week announced its new “aphrodisiac” flavor, a limited-edition run to be sold from mid-January through Valentine’s Day. The crisps combine honey and “chilli.” (NOTE: This is how Brits spell “chili.” Here we go again.) This combination, Tyrrell’s claims, “should see the honey tinkering with hormone levels,” while the chili will “activate nerve endings on the tongue, releasing endorphins” – which I assume are small, dolphin-like creatures. This reminds me that Tyrrell’s also markets a flavor called “Posh Prawn.” Until I read this, I thought Posh Prawn was the sixth Spice Girl.

Tyrrell’s marketing manager explains, “Our new honey and chilli has an extra special place in our hearts, as it is the first crisp with aphrodisiac properties that’s ever been created.” Maybe so, but it is not the first food to claim to set your hormones athrob.

History notes a wide variety of foods that carry aphrodisiac properties: asparagus; pomegranate; beets; figs; strawberries; avocado; and, of course, chocolate. Search for a few seconds online and you’ll find an eBay merchant selling “Famous Aphrodisiac Turkish Carrot Delight Cezerye Cezerriye by Koska.” Nuts.com is hawking “Aphrodisiac Mix,” containing chocolate-covered strawberries and bananas, banana chips (or crisps), dried strawberries, almonds, papaya and sour cherries. A satisfied consumer noted that she gave four packages to a cousin who has 12 grandchildren. She should have looked up the meaning of “aphrodisiac.”

I have to give props to Tyrrell’s, though. They may have invented the first crunchy snack that’s OK to eat in bed. Snuggle up with a bag in bed on Valentines’ Day.

Let the crisps fall where they may.