Asafoetida

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Unprocessed asafoetida in a jar and as a tincture

Asafoetida (

Northwest China (Xinjiang
). Different regions have different botanical sources.

Asafoetida has a pungent smell, 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 leeks 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 name is derived from asa, a latinised form of Persian azā 'mastic', and Latin foetidus 'stinky'.[2]

Other names include, with its pungent odour having resulted in many unpleasant names:

Names in different languages
Language Name Literal meaning/Notes
Afrikaans duiwelsdrek Devil's dirt
Arabic
ḥiltīt[3]
Assamese hiṅ (হিং)
Bengali hiṅ (হিং)
Burmese shein-kho (ရှိန်းခို)
Dutch duivelsdrek[4]
English Devil's dung
Persian
Anghoze
Finnish pirunpaska Devil's shit
Finnish pirunpihka Devil's resin
French merde du Diable[4] Devil shit
German Teufelsdreck,[5] Devil's dirt
Gujarati hīṅg (હિંગ)[1]
Hebrew chiltit (חלתית)[6]
Hebrew chitt[7]
Hindi hīṅg (हींग)
Kannada
ingu (ಇಂಗು)
Kashmiri yang’eh (ینگہہ)
Kashubian czarcé łajno chort dung
Malayalam
kāyaṃ (കായം) called raamadom in the 14th century
Marathi hinga (हिंग)
Nepali hing (हिङ्ग)
Norwegian dyvelsdrek Devil's dirt
Odia hengu (ହେଙ୍ଗୁ)
Pashto hënjâṇa (هنجاڼه)[8]
Polish czarcie łajno chort dung
Swedish dyvelsträck Devil's dirt
Tamil perunkayam (பெருங்காயம்)
Telugu inguva (ఇంగువ)
Turkish Şeytan boku[4] Satan's shit
Turkish Şeytan otu[4] Satan's weed
Turkish Şeytan tersi[4]
Urdu hīṅg (ہینگ)

Composition

Typical asafoetida contains about 40–64% resin, 25%

endogeneous gum, 10–17% volatile oil, and 1.5–10% ash. The resin portion contains asaresinotannols A and B, ferulic acid, umbelliferone and four unidentified compounds.[9] The volatile oil component is rich in various organosulphide compounds, such as 2-butyl-propenyl-disulphide, diallyl sulphide, diallyl disulphide (also present in garlic) [10] and dimethyl trisulphide, which is also responsible for the odour of cooked onions. The organosulphides are primarily responsible for the odour and flavour of asafoetida.[11]

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.[12][11]

  • Ferula foetida is the source of asafoetida in Eastern Iran, western Afghanistan, western Pakistan and Central Asia (Karakum Desert, Kyzylkum Desert).[13][14] It is one of the most widely distributed asafoetida-producing species and often mistaken for F. assa-foetida.[13] It has sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil.[11]
  • Ferula assa-foetida is endemic to Southern Iran and is the source of asafoetida there. It has sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil.[12][11] Although it is often considered the main source of asafoetida on the international market, this notion is attributable to the fact that several Ferula species acting as the major sources are often misidentified as F. assa-foetida.[13][15] In fact, the production of asafoetida from F. assa-foetida is confined to its native range, namely Southern Iran, outside which the sources of asafoetida are other species.[11][14][16]
  • Ferula pseudalliacea and Ferula rubricaulis endemic to western and southwestern Iran are sometimes considered conspecific with F. assa-foetida.[13][15]
  • Ferula lutensis is the source of asafoetida in Eastern Iran.[11][14] It has sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil.[11]
  • Ferula alliacea is the source of asafoetida in Eastern Iran.[14] It has sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil.[11]
  • Ferula latisecta is the source of asafoetida in Eastern Iran and southern Turkmenistan.[14] It has sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil.[12]
  • Ferula sinkiangensis is endemic to Xinjiang, China. It is the source of asafoetida in China.[17] It has sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil.[12]
  • Ferula fukanensis is endemic to Xinjiang, China. It is the source of asafoetida in China.[17] It has sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil.[12]
  • Ferula narthex is native to Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and Kashmir.[13] Although it is often listed as the source of asafoetida, one report stated that it lacked sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil.[18]

Uses

Cooking

Containers of commercial asafoetida

This spice is used as a digestive aid,[

tempered.[19]

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.[20]

When adapting recipes for those with garlic allergy or intolerance, asafoetida can be used as a substitute.

Cultivation and manufacture

The resin-like 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.[citation needed]

Ferula assa-foetida is a

perennial plant of the family Apiaceae. It grows to 2 m (6+12 ft) high, with a circular mass of 30–40 cm (12–16 in) leaves. Stem leaves have wide sheathing petioles. Flowering stems are 2.5–3 m (8–10 ft) high and 10 cm (4 in) thick and hollow, with a number of schizogenous ducts in the cortex containing the resinous gum. Flowers are pale greenish yellow produced in large compound umbels. 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.[21]

History

Asafoetida was familiar in the early

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.[22]

Asafoetida is also mentioned numerous times in Jewish literature, such as the Mishnah.[23] 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 [חִלְתִּית chiltit]."[24]

While it is generally forgotten now in Europe, it is widely used in India. Asafoetida is mentioned in the

Prasadam) before consumption and onions and garlic cannot be offered to Krishna.[26]

Asafoetida was described by a number of Arab and Islamic scientists and pharmacists.

Ibn al-Baitar and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi described some positive medicinal effects on the respiratory system.[27]

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 India, both in medicine and in cookery." During the Italian Renaissance, asafoetida was used as part of the exorcism ritual.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "asafœtida". Oxford English Dictionary second edition. Oxford University Press. 1989. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  2. .
  3. .
  4. ^ .
  5. ^ Thomas Carlyle's well-known 19th century novel Sartor Resartus concerns a German philosopher named Teufelsdröckh.
  6. ^ ben Jehiel, Nathan (1553). ספר הערוך [Sefer he-ʻArukh] (in Hebrew). Venice: Frentsuni-Bragadin.
  7. ^ ben Jehiel, Nathan (1553). ספר הערוך [Sefer he-ʻArukh] (in Hebrew). Venice: Frentsuni-Bragadin.
  8. ^ Pashto–English Dictionary
  9. . More information about the composition, p. 395.
  10. .
  11. ^ .
  12. ^ .
  13. ^ a b c d e Chamberlain, David F (1977). "The identity of Ferula assa-foetida L." Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. 35 (2): 229–233.
  14. ^
    S2CID 204814018
    .
  15. ^ .
  16. .
  17. ^ .
  18. .
  19. ^ Sarda, Shalbha (2023-01-12). "Devil's dung or dinner delight? The story behind hing, one of India's most divisive ingredients". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  20. ^ K, Priya (September 12, 2018). "Asafetida Is the Spice That Makes My Indian Food Taste, Well, Indian". Bon Appétit. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  21. .
  22. ^ m. Avodah Zarah ch. 1; m. Shabbat ch. 20; et al.
  23. ^ Mishneh Torah, Laws of Opinions (Hilchot Deot) 4:8.
  24. .
  25. ^ "Why no onions or garlic?". food.krishna.com. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  26. ^ Menghi, Girolamo. The Devil's Scourge: Exorcism During the Italian Renaissance. p. 151.

External links