Asafoetida

Asafoetida (/æsəˈfɛtɪdə/; also spelled asafetida)[1] is the dried latex (gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of Ferula (F. foetida and F. assa-foetida), perennial herbs growing 1 to 1.5 m (3.3 to 4.9 ft) tall. They are part of the celery family, Umbelliferae. Asafoetida is thought to be in the same genus as silphium, a North African plant now believed to be extinct, and was used as a cheaper substitute for that historically important herb from classical antiquity. The species are native to the deserts of Iran and mountains of Afghanistan where substantial amounts are grown.[2]

Asafoetida has a pungent smell, lending it the trivial name of “stinking gum”. The odor 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” or “food of the devils” in English (and similar expressions in many other languages).

The English name is derived from asa, a latinised form of Persian azā, meaning ‘resin’, and Latin foetidus meaning ‘smelling, fetid’, which refers to its strong sulfurous odour.

In the United States, a folk spelling and pronunciation is “asafedity”.[citation needed] It is called perunkayam (பெருங்காயம்) in Tamil, hinga (हिंग) in Marathi, hengu (ହେଙ୍ଗୁ) in Odia, hiṅ (হিং) in Bengali, ingu (ಇಂಗು) in Kannada, kāyaṃ (കായം) in Malayalam[3] (it was attested as raamadom in the 14th century), inguva (ఇంగువ) in Telugu,[3] and hīng (हींग) in Hindi.[3] In Pashto, it is called hënjâṇa (هنجاڼه).[4] Its pungent odour has resulted in its being known by many unpleasant names. In French it is known (among other names) as merde du Diable, meaning ‘Devil’s shit’.[5] In English it is sometimes called Devil’s dung, and equivalent names can be found in most Germanic languages (e.g., German Teufelsdreck,[6] Swedish dyvelsträck, Dutch duivelsdrek,[5] and Afrikaans duiwelsdrek). Also, it is called chitt or chiltit (חילתית) in Hebrew;[7]in Finnish, pirunpaska or pirunpihka; in Turkish, Şeytan tersi, Şeytan boku or Şeytan otu;[5] and in Kashubian it is called czarcé łajno. Other names for it include ting[3] and haltit or tyib in Arabic.[8][clarification needed]and hingu in Malay.