A Closer Look At Goop’s Sex Bark Recipe

Gwyneth Paltrow's buzz-machine and lifestyle site, goop, got everyone talking this week with a recipe for what it calls "Sex Bark." Apparently, the chocolately confection can "enhance youthfulness, reproductive function, and sex drive" while "promoting enjoyable sex and fertility for both men and women."  Although it’s not the love potion from Harry Potter, we'd like to imagine that Sex Bark was directly inspired by it. After all, moonstone is an ingredient in the wizarding potion — and Gwyn's concoction calls for something called "Moon Juice," which doesn't come cheap. In typical goop fashion, this (admittedly delicious-sounding) recipe requires a list of healthy, hard-to-find, and expensive ingredients. Let's take a closer look at that list, and what each piece of it costs: Coconut oil: About $11 for 15 ounces. Ghee: About $8 for 13 ounces. Raw honey or several drops stevia: About $11 for 22 ounces of honey; about $16 for 8 ounces of stevia. Moon Pantry cacao: $15 for 16 ounces. Moon Pantry Sex Dust: $60 for 4 ounces. Moon Pantry Ho Shou Wu: $18 for 4 ounces. Moon Pantry cacao nibs: $15 for 16 ounces. The most interesting ingredient is certainly Sex Dust. Described as an “aphrodisiac warming potion,” it contains herbs and other natural food-boosters, like Epimedium, Ho Shou Wu, Schisandra, Cistanche, Shilajit, maca, cacao, Lo Han Guo, and stevia. Epimedium, the first ingredient in Sex Dust, is also known as “horny goat weed.” It's often used for treating weak joints and back pain, and occasionally, erectile dysfunction. Despite such alluring names, Sex Dust's aphrodisiac qualities have yet to be scientifically proven. Assuming you don't already have the above ingredients in your pantry, this Valentine’s Day treat will run you about $138, plus shipping. Alternatively, throw down a $20 for a box of Whitman’s chocolate at the drugstore.  Head over to goop for the official recipe with instructions. We'll be standing by for a follow-up post about what one should do with leftover Sex Dust.