Asafoetida (; also spelled asafetida)[
]
is the dried latex (Natural gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of Ferula, perennial of the carrot family. It is produced in Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Northwest China (Xinjiang). Different regions have different botanical sources.
Asafoetida has a Pungency, as reflected in its name, lending it the common name of "stinking gum". The odour dissipates upon cooking; in cooked dishes, it delivers a smooth flavour reminiscent of or other onion relatives. Asafoetida is also known colloquially as "devil's dung" in English (and similar expressions in many other languages).
Etymology and other names
The
English language name is derived from
asa, a
Romanization form of
Persian language azā 'mastic', and
Latin foetidus 'stinky'.
Other names include, with its pungent odour having resulted in many unpleasant names:
| + Names in different languages |
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| Devil's dirt |
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| Devil's dung |
| Devil's dirt |
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| Devil's shit |
| Devil's resin |
| Devil shit |
| Devil's dirt |
| Gujarati | hīṅg (હિંગ) | |
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| chort dung |
| called raamadom in the 14th century |
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| hing (ꯍꯤꯉꯒ) |
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| Devil's dirt |
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| Polish language | chort dung |
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| Devil's manure |
| Devil's dirt |
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| From Indic |
| Shaitan's shit |
| Shaitan's weed |
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Shaitan's rear>| |
| Yiddish | khelbne (חלבנה) | |
tayvlskoyt (טײַוולסקויט) | devil's filth |
olúnt (אָלונט) | |
Composition
Typical asafoetida contains about 40–64% resin, 25%
endogeneous gum, 10–17% volatile oil, and 1.5–10% ash. The resin portion contains
A and B,
ferulic acid,
umbelliferone, and four unidentified compounds.
[ Handbook of Indices of Food Quality and Authenticity. Rekha S. Singhal, Pushpa R. Kulkarni. 1997, Woodhead Publishing, Food industry and trade . More information about the composition, p. 395.] The volatile oil component is rich in various
organosulfide compounds, such as 2-butyl-propenyl-disulphide, diallyl sulphide, diallyl disulphide (also present in garlic)
and dimethyl trisulfide, which is also responsible for the odour of cooked onions. The organosulfides are primarily responsible for the odour and flavour of asafoetida.
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]
Botanical sources
Many Ferula species are utilised as the sources of asafoetida. Most of them are characterised by abundant sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil.
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Ferula foetida is the source of asafoetida in Eastern Iran, western Afghanistan, western Pakistan and Central Asia (Karakum Desert, Kyzylkum Desert).
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Ferula assa-foetida is endemic to Southern Iran and is the source of asafoetida there. It has sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil.
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Ferula pseudalliacea and Ferula rubricaulis are endemic to western and southwestern Iran. They are sometimes considered conspecific with F. assa-foetida.
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Ferula lutensis and Ferula alliacea are the sources of asafoetida in Eastern Iran. They have sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil.
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Ferula latisecta is the source of asafoetida in Eastern Iran and southern Turkmenistan.
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Ferula sinkiangensis and Ferula fukanensis are endemic to Xinjiang, China. They are the sources of asafoetida in China.
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Ferula narthex is native to Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and Kashmir.
Uses
Cooking
This spice is used as a digestive aid,
In its pure form, it is sold in the form of chunks of resin, small quantities of which are scraped off for use. The odour of the pure resin is so strong that the pungent smell will contaminate other spices stored nearby if it is not stored in an airtight container.
When adapting recipes for those with garlic allergy or intolerance, asafoetida can be used as a substitute.
Cultivation and manufacture
The resin-like natural gum comes from the dried sap extracted from the stem and roots, and is used as a spice. The resin is greyish-white when fresh, but dries to a dark amber colour. The asafoetida resin is difficult to grate and is traditionally crushed between stones or with a hammer. Today, the most commonly available form is compounded asafoetida, a fine powder containing 30% asafoetida resin, along with rice flour or maida (white wheat flour) and gum arabic.
Ferula assa-foetida is a monoecious, herbaceous plant, perennial plant of the family Apiaceae. It grows to high, with a circular mass of leaves. Stem leaves have wide sheathing petioles. Flowering stems are high and thick and hollow, with a number of ducts in the cortex containing the resinous gum. Flowers are pale greenish yellow produced in large compound . Fruits are oval, flat, thin, reddish brown and have a milky juice. Roots are thick, massive, and pulpy. They yield a resin similar to that of the stems. All parts of the plant have the distinctive fetid smell.
History
Asafoetida was familiar in the early Mediterranean, having come by land across Iran. It was brought to Europe by an expedition of Alexander the Great, who, after returning from a trip to northeastern ancient Persia, thought that he had found a plant almost identical to the famed silphium of Cyrene in North Africa—though less tasty. Dioscorides, in the first century, wrote, "the Cyrenaic kind, even if one just tastes it, at once arouses a humour throughout the body and has a very healthy aroma, so that it is not noticed on the breath, or only a little; but the Median Iranian is weaker in power and has a nastier smell." Nevertheless, it could be substituted for silphium in cooking, which was fortunate, because a few decades after Dioscorides' time, the true silphium of Cyrene became extinct, and asafoetida became more popular amongst physicians, as well as cooks.[ Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices. Andrew Dalby. 2000. University of California Press. Spices/ History. 184 pages. ]
Asafoetida is also mentioned numerous times in Jewish literature, such as the Mishnah.[m. Avodah Zarah ch. 2; m. Shabbat ch. 20; et al.] Maimonides also writes in the Mishneh Torah "In the rainy season, one should eat warm food with much spice, but a limited amount of mustard and asafoetida rtl=yes."[ Mishneh Torah, Laws of Opinions (Hilchot Deot) 4:8.]
While it is generally forgotten now in Europe, it is widely used in India. Asafoetida is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana (7:5:23-24), which states that one must not have eaten hing before worshipping the deity. Asafoetida is eaten by Brahmins and Jains.
Asafoetida was described by a number of Arab and Islamic scientists and pharmacists. Avicenna discussed the effects of asafoetida on digestion. Ibn al-Baitar and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi described some positive medicinal effects on the respiratory system.[Avicenna (1999). The Canon of Medicine (al-Qānūn fī'l-ṭibb), vol. 1. Laleh Bakhtiar (ed.), Oskar Cameron Gruner (trans.), Mazhar H. Shah (trans.). Great Books of the Islamic World. ]
After the fall of Rome and until the 16th century, asafoetida was rare in Europe, and if ever encountered, it was viewed as a medicine. "If used in cookery, it would ruin every dish because of its dreadful smell", asserted Garcia de Orta's European guest. "Nonsense", Garcia replied, "nothing is more widely used in every part of Indian cuisine, both in medicine and in cookery."
During the Italian Renaissance, asafoetida was used as part of the exorcism ritual.
See also
External links
