‘Sitophilia’ explained as new fetish trend is on the rise

Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to spicing thing up in the bedroom.

Some people are into whips and chains, while others prefer to keep things more vanilla. And then you've got the people who like to include the contents of their kitchen cupboards.

While the latter might sound a little strange, as many as one in three Brits are keen on the idea of bringing food into the bedroom, while nearly half (45 percent) believe food can be just as sensual as sex toys.

In fact, online supermarket Ocado has reported a surge in customers purchasing a number of phallic-shaped foods — and who knows what they're being used for when they reach the home.

One particular item that has skyrocketed is ridge cucumbers, which have seen a 178 percent increase in sales in recent weeks. Why might that be when we've just had Valentine's Day, you ask?

We'll let you use your imagination on that one, but it all points to an increase in interest of sitophilia.

Ridge cucumber sales have soared (Getty Stock Images)

What is sitophilia?

Sitophilia is otherwise known as food play, and refers to a fetish or kink where people get sexual pleasure from using food in intimate situations. It is sometimes known as sploshing too.

According to Ocado, nearly a third of Brits have incorporated cucumbers, bananas and courgettes between the sheets with a partner, which proves that while not many people might be shouting from the roof about it, sitophilia is very much alive and well.

Of course, food play is not a new concept and is probably one of the earliest recorded fetishes, with ancient cultures like the Romans and Greeks linking food and pleasure in all aspects of their lives.

Coconut oil is likely being used for massages (Getty Stock Images)

But popularity certainly seems to be growing, given that sales of lickable foods went up considerably, such as honey which saw a 509 percent spike in sales, while whipped cream saw a 24 percent surge.

Meanwhile, sales of coconut oil spiked by a huge 599 percent, suggesting people are doing more than cooking with the oily lubricant.

If you do fancy having a crack at sitophilia, it's important to take certain safety precautions in order to avoid any embarrassing trips to A&E, because we've all heard certain stories about people ending up in hospital with objects stuck in certain areas.

To start off, the safest thing to do is use foods that stay on the outside of the body, like chocolate sauce or even whipped cream.