Asafoetida

Botanical Name: Ferula asafoetida

Family: Apiaceae Oleogum

Hindi Name: Hing

The Latin name Ferula means 'carrier' or 'vehicle'. It is derived from a related species, F Vulgaris, that is considered to be the same plant which helped Prometheus to carry the stolen fire from the sun to the earth, and hence has great significance in Greek mythology.

It has been in use in Europe since the time of Alexander the Great who opened trade routes that made Eastern commodities available in the Mediterranean region.

It was used in ancient Greek and Roman cuisines, especially to flavour barbecued mutton, and continued to be used through the Middle Ages. Later, however, its popularity ceased there.

The Ferula plant has massive carrot shaped roots. Early in summer, just before the plants flower, the rhizome's upper part is laid bare, and the stem cut off close to the crown.

The latex or resin that oozes out from the cut area is collected from each subsequent cut made on the rhizome, till the exudation ceases. The resin extracted from the rhizome and thickened fruit is dried and used. A pea-sized amount is considered to be large or sufficient to add the asafoetida to a large pot of food.

Powdered asafoetida is less acrid and bitter in taste than the whole dried resin. Asafoetida has a strong, pungent odour, hence its common name abroad, 'Devil's dung'.

Its composition is as follows:

Resin: 40-64%
Gum: 25%
Volatile oil: 10-17%
Ash: 1.5-10%

Although the smell of fresh asafoetida does not seem to qualify as a valuable food enhancer, yet after frying in small doses, the taste becomes pleasant.

Commercially, Indian asafoetida comes in three forms on the basis of quality: tears, mass and paste. The tears are the purest form of the resin, and are rounded or flattened, grayish or dull yellow in colour. Mass asafoetida is the common form that is used commercially. Another classification names two varieties on the place of origin, flavour and colour: hing and hingra.

All over Iran and India, people who do not prefer to eat onion and garlic, make asafoetida an essential ingredient of their cuisine. Being a unique blend of the finest ingredients, Indian asafoetida from Kashmir enjoys an exalted position in the international market. In South India, asafoetida is very popular. The sambar powder frequently contains asafoetida as flavour enhancer.

Asafoetida is reputed as a drug for treatment of flatulence and spasmodic disorders. It is an effective remedy for hysteria, respiratory, stomach and children's disorders, impotency, women's ailments, toothache and cholera. Recent studies show that the oil in asafoetida has antibiotic remedies, and inhibits growth of microbes. The resinous gum is said to help patients suffering from amnesia, intestinal worms, aches and pains, and fevers such as in kala-azar.

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