A quick Internet survey reveals no less than 85 foods, recipes or concoctions purported to stimulate libido.   It is rather easy to find a doctor or scientist who will say that none of them work.  But perhaps we should not be so submissive.  Many of our modern medicines did in fact originate in root, or the bark of a tree.  In fact, many enterprising scientists and pharmaceutical companies are even now gathering herbs and folklore in hopes of find a new cure for male patterned baldness or hangnails.  Maybe their are some real aphrodisiacs out there but the medical establishment wants you to wait and buy the pill from them.  Pills often have unintended side effects.  Eating your way to good health, even good sexual health would seem to be the preferred alternative.

Before the invention of chemistry, the world was interpreted through magical thinking.  When it comes to affairs to affairs of the heart, often the notion of sympathetic magic was employed.  The basic idea was, we don’t seem to have a way to control something like libido directly.  So why don’t we try to control it indirectly.  Before much was known of the body the thinking of what might induce the body to perform in a certain way was very simplistic.  For instance, it was thought if a many wanted more virility he should consume the essence of wild, virile animal like a tiger.  If a man wanted to perform in bed he should consume a object that was like what he wanted to become.  And some the horns of animals like rhinoceros were powdered and consumed.

Later, some peoples actually made observations about which fruits and vegetables had a particular effect and another crop of aphrodisiac came into being. 

Yohimbine comes from the bark of an African tree.  Since preparations of the bark have actually been prescribed for impotence it is likely that it can be used as a sexual stimulant in some people.  As with all medicine, consult your doctor before you try it.

There are a number of curious things such as beets and oysters that have been considered aphrodisiacs.  This lead to the creation of a salad of pears, roasted beets and three aphrodisiacs.

Almost any food that resembles human sex organs such as carrots and oysters have been thought to be aphrodisiacs in the past

Saffron, a flower that is sometimes used in Asian cooking is thought by some to be an aphrodisiac.

To round out the list note that lettuce, dark chocolate and truffles have been considered to be

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in some cultures.