About Asafoetida (History & Specialization)

Asafetida, also spelled asafoetida, gets its name from the Persian aza, for mastic or resin, and the Latin foetidus, for stinking. It is a gum that is from the sap of the roots and stem of the ferula species, a giant fennel that exudes a vile odour. Early records mention that Alexander the Great carried this “stink finger” west in 4 BC. It was used as a spice in ancient Rome, and although not native to India, it has been used in Indian medicine and cookery for ages. It was believed that asafoetida enhanced singers voices. In the days of the Mughal aristocracy, the court singers if Agra and Delhi would eat a spoonful of asafoetida with butter and practice on the banks of the river Yamuna.

Asafetida is a hard resinous gum, grayish-white when fresh, darkening with age to yellow, red and eventually brown. It is sold in blocks or pieces as a gum and more frequently as a fine yellow powder, sometimes crystalline or granulated.

Asafoetida has remained a part of the Indian spice box for centuries and continues to be used both in cooking and in medicine in India. It is widely used in Indian vegetarian cuisine with pulses, beans, vegetables, savory snacks, pickles and chutneys. When added to hot oil, its strong smell changes to an enticing oniony garlicky aroma. It is considered a digestive aid, and it helps to neutralize flatulence. In ayurveda Asafetida is considered a stimulant, not only to the digestion, but also to the respiratory and nervous systems.

Unlike cumin, coriander and cinnamon, asafetida does not cross culinary boundaries seamlessly. It is not just its spelling that is the most uncommon thing about it. For the familiar, initially its smell can be alarming. It belongs to the category of those ingredients that make you wonder how it became a culinary spice.

The name asafetida originates from the Persian word aza(mastic resin) and a Latin word foetida, meaning stinking. It is called devil’s dung because of its strong pungent smell due to the presence of sulfur compounds. The perennial asafoetida plants are native to the region between the Mediterranean and central Asia, especially Afghanistan and Iran. Even though most of the world’s production of asafoetida comes from Iran and Afghanistan, India is the major consumer of this spice.

An ancient spice comes to the U.S.

Asafoetida is a hard aromatic resinous gum collected from certain species of giant fennels, plants of the genus ferula. The plant develops a large, thick taproot, which produces a thick sap when it is cut. The sap is collected just before the plants start flowering. This milky liquid soon coagulates when exposed to air. The color darkens when it is sun dried into a solid form. Asafoetida is sold in blocks or pieces as a gum and more frequently as a fine powder, sometimes crystalline or granulated.

The lump asafoetida is the most common form of pure asafoetida. In making commercially ground asafoetida the resins are combined with small quantities of rice, barley or wheat flour to prevent lumping and to reduce the strong smell. It is available as either mustard yellow powder or sandy brown coarse powder. Both block and powdered asafoetida are available at Indian groceries and specialty spice stores in the United States.

Asafoetida’s use as a tenderizer and preservative for meat was known centuries ago. The great Indian epic “Mahabharata” includes graphic descriptions of how shoulders and rounds of animals were dressed in ghee, and garnished with fruits, herbs and spices, including asafoetida. It was a popular spice in Europe since the Roman times and a much-preferred spice of the Middle Ages. Iranian cuisine uses it for flavoring meatballs and in Afghanistan it is used in the preparation of dried meat.