"There's something primal about eating oysters," says oyster-lover MJ Gimbar. He describes them as creamy and velvety. "It's like a kiss from the ocean."

Fishmonger MJ Gimbar serves up some oysters at BlackSalt Fish Market & Restaurant in Washington, D.C. (Maggie Starbard/NPR)

It's a good thing his passions run so deep, because part of his job as fishmonger for the Washington, D.C-region's Black Restaurant Group is to introduce newbies to the experience of oysters.

His trick: Offer up a big range of tastes. As he describes in his blog The Edible Ocean, not all oysters are salty.

During a tasting, he serves up a Kumamoto Oyster, which is sweet, almost melon-like.

Then he introduces a Barren Island Oyster, which, by contrast, is buttery and mild, with hints of a mineral-like taste. "The taste is indicative of where [the oyster] grows." Barren Island Oysters are harvested in the Chesapeake Bay.

Increasingly, fishmongers play up the equivalent of a wine terroir. "The water [where the oysters are grown] and the species all make a difference" to the taste, Gimbar says.

Now, when it comes to evoking an aphrodisiac effect? Well, if you talk to oyster-lovers like Gimbar, all oysters seem to have the potential.

"Isn't it the zinc?" diners have asked Gimbar. Well, maybe. Oysters do contain zinc. And scientists have found a link between zinc and testosterone levels.

But this is a long way from proving that eating a plate-full can stir carnal lust.

In recent years, scientists have been studying the amino acids in mollusks, including oysters.

Lunch with oysters and wine by Frans van Mieris, 1635-1681. (Universal Images Group/UIG via Getty Images)

One paper published a few years ago in the journal Animal Reproductive Science documented a link between high levels of the amino acid D-Aspartic acid and improved sperm count — in rabbits.

Now, it's not clear how much of this amino acid we're getting when we eat a plate of oysters. And the extent to which this could be true in humans begs a lot more scientific investigation.

But it's intriguing that, centuries after the Greeks made the love connection, scientists are still trying to pin down whether there's something to it.

Culinary historian Kathleen Wall of the Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts has a different theory as to why the stories connecting love and oysters have amplified over time.

"It's perception," Wall says. "What people think about food has an effect on the body. It's the placebo effect." The stories we tell ourselves become true, she says.

She points to 17th-century Dutch paintings where scattered oyster shells are a common symbol of lust.

And how about the women who sold oysters in Colonial America? "Oyster wenches were thought to be a little loose because they were so stirred up by the proximity [to the] oysters," Wall says.

"We haven't let go of these [associations]," Wall says. And over time, they've only become stronger.

Whether it's love or lust, oysters carry their past with them.

And, oh, I won't leave you in the lurch re: the avocado and the turnip. Turns out, they've all been said to stir up, well you know, desire.

Really, the turnip? Yes — Thomas Elyot, an influential health writer from the 16th century, recommended the turnip to promote carnal lust.

So if oysters are not in your Valentine's Day budget, hey, maybe look to that root vegetable for an affordable alternative.

How To Shuck An Oyster

Step 1:

Wiggle (don't jab) the knife in from the hinge of the shell. Turn it like a key. Once you have leverage, MJ says you can pop off the top shell. Make sure the cup-side of the shell is on the bottom.

Step 2:

Slide the knife along the top to severe the abductor, which is the muscle attached to the shell.

Step 3:

Then slice along bottom, make sure you hold steady to preserve the liquor inside. Your oyster will now slide right off.

Copyright 2014 NPR.

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For the Love of Oysters: How a Kiss From the Sea Evokes Passion