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Asafoetida(Ferula asafoetida), Hing
Asafoetida Spice: Asafoetida is extensively used as spices and in spice mix, for flavouring curries, sauces, and pickles. It is also used in medicines because of its antibiotic properties. This spice is used as a digestive aid, in food as a condiment and in pickles. Its odour, when uncooked, is so strong that it must be stored in airtight containers; otherwise the aroma will contaminate other spices stored nearby. However, its odour and flavor become much milder and more pleasant upon heating in oil or ghee, acquiring a taste and aroma reminiscent of sautéed onion and garlic.

Asafoetida Health: It helps in fighting flu , influenza, swine flu. It also asthma and bronchitis, it is antimicrobial with well documented uses for treating chronic bronchitis and whooping cough, as well as reducing flatulence. In Ayurveda, It is good for Digestion, it is used to aid digestion and is smeared on the stomach in an alcohol or water tincture. Asafoetida is extremely good for balancing the vata dosha - In Ayurveda.

Description
Asafoetida is the dried latex (gum oleoresin) exuded from the living underground rhizome or tap root of several species of Ferula (three of which grow in India), which is a perennial herb (1 to 1.5 mtr. High).

Origin and Distribution
The species are distributed from the Mediterranean region to Central Asia. In India it is grown in Kashmir and in some parts of Punjab. The major supply of asafoetida to India is from Afghanistan and Iran. There are two main varieties of asafoetida ie. Hing Kabuli Sufaid (Milky white asafoetida) and Hing Lal (Red asafoetida). Asafoetida is acrid and bitter in taste and emits a strong disagreeable pungent odour due to the presence of sulphur compounds therein. It is available in three forms ie. ‘Tears’, ‘Mass’ and ‘Paste’. ‘Tears’, is the purest form of resin, rounded or flattened, 5 to 30 mm in diameter and a greyish or dull yellow in colour. ‘Mass’ asafoetida is the common commercial form, uniform in mass. ‘Paste’ form contains extraneous matter.

The white or pale variety is water soluble, whereas the dark or black variety is oil soluble.

Since pure asafoetida is not preferred due to its strong flavour, it is mixed with starch and gum and sold as compounded asafoetida mostly in bricket form. It is also available in free flowing (Powder form) or in tablet forms.

USES

Asafoetida is extensively used for flavouring curries, sauces, and pickles. It is also used in medicines because of its antibiotic properties.

Botanical name	Family name	Commercial part
Ferula asafoetida	Apiaceae	Oleogum resin extracted from rhizome and thickened root

Indian Names
Hindi	: Hing
Kannada	: Hinger
Kashmiri	: Yang, Sap
Sanskrit	: Badhika, Agudagandhu
Tamil	: Perungayam
Urdu	: Hing

Name in international languages

Persian	: Angustha-Gandha
French	: Ferule Asafoetida
German	: Stinkendes steckenkraut
Arabic	: Tyib, Haltheeth
Further Reading: Sensory quality: Very strong smell, rather repugnant, remotely similar to (not altogether fresh) garlic. Main constituents: Dried asafetida consists mostly of a resin (25 to 60% of the total mass, 60% of which are esters of ferula acid) and a complex carbohydrate part (25 to 30%). The essential oil (10%) contains a wealth of sulfur compounds, mainly (R)-2-butyl-1-propenyl disulphide (50%), 1-(1-methylthiopropyl) 1-propenyl disulphide and 2-butyl-3-methylthioallyl disulphide. Furthermore, di-2-butyl trisulphide, 2-butyl methyl trisulphide, di-2-butyl disulphide and even di-2-butyl tetrasulphide have been found. (Phytochemistry, 23, 899, 1984) The essential oil contains also some terpenes (a-pinene, phellandrenes) and hendecylsulphonyl acetic acid. Ethers of sesquiterpenes with coumarines have also been identified (farnesiferoles). Indian places, it is not common to combine asafetida with either garlic or onion, even if no taboo applies to the latter. In the Dravidian South, asafetida is even more popular. The Tamil (South Indian) spice mixture sambar podi (see cumin) frequently contains asafetida. Although exceptions exist, asafetida has the reputation of being a spice for vegetables, not meats; now vegetarianism is more common in South India than in the North, which probably explains why asafetida is so much associated with South India, although its natural habitat lies in the North. Asafetida is a good example for the overlapping of culinary and medicinal use of a plant. Particularly in South India, asafetida is almost canonical for the preparation of legumes (beans, peas, lentils), which are collectively known as dal in India. Dal is a chief element of the Indian diet, as it is not only a cheap source of protein, but also one of the few protein sources open to vegetarians. Moreover, dried legumes are easy to store and have a long shelf life. However, being rich in indigestible oligosaccharids, they call for spices with prominent antiflatulence action. Asafetida, garlic and cumin are commonly used to make dal both more tasty and less cumbersome. Other countries have their own indigenous spices with similar medicinal properties, e.g., savory in Europe and epazote in México; both herbs contain strongly disinfecting components in their essential oils. Usage of asafetida differs a little bit for the compounded (powdered) form and the pure resin. The resin is very strongly scented and must be used with care; furthermore, it is absolutely necessary to fry the resin quickly in hot oil (see also ajwain). This has two reasons: First, the resin dissolves in the hot fat and gets better dispersed in the food, and second, the high temperature changes the taste to a more pleasant impression. A pea-sized amount is considered a large amount, sufficient to flavour a large pot of food. Powdered asafetida, on the other hand, is less intense and may be added without frying, although then the aroma develops less deeply. Lastly, powdered asafetida loses its aroma after some years, but the resin seems to be imperishable (maybe, in some more ten years, I’ll substitute seems in the last sentence by is). Daring cooks will find asafetida an interesting alternative to onion and garlic, even for Western dishes. Careful dosage is, though, essential; in ancient Rome, asafetida was stored in jars together with pine nuts, which were alone used to flavour delicate dishes. Another method is dissolving asafetida in hot oil and adding the oil drop by drop to the food. If used with sufficient moderation, asafetida enhances mushroom and vegetable dishes, but can also be used to give fried or barbecued meat a unique flavour.