174 Spice Profiles
Region of cultivation
Asafoetida is native to the mountains of Central
Asia, from Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan to
Kashmir. It is cultivated mainly in Afghanistan,
but also in Iran, Pakistan, and Kashmir. Most
of the world’s crop is imported by India.The plant
Asafoetida is derived
from several giant
fennel species of
the genus Ferula,
in the carrot family.
The plant emits
a distinctly
fetid smell.Whole
In its purest form, asafoetida can be
bought as small pieces of dried resin,
which may be ground or used with
water or steam to impart flavour.Ground
Commercial powders are mixed with rice
flour, both to prevent the starch-rich spice
from clumping and to dilute the flavour for
Leaves and greater control when using the spice.
stems are
edible, and
occasionally
eaten as a
vegetable
in IranBrittle chunks
of pure resin are
Huge, carrot-like known as “tears”
roots can
be 15cm (6in)
in diameterBOTANICAL NAME
Ferula assa-foetidaALSO KNOWN AS
Devil’s dung, stinking gum, hing.MAIN FLAVOUR COMPOUNDS
Sulphides.PARTS USED
Taproot: a resin is produced
from the coagulated sap.METHOD OF CULTIVATION
In spring, the stalk base is cut to expose
the top of the taproot, which is “milked”
every few days for its sap.COMMERCIAL PREPARATION
The sap is dried to form a dark resin, most
of which is ground to a powder and mixed
with rice flour and gum arabic.NON-CULINARY USES
In traditional medicine to relieve
flatulence and to treat lung conditions.IRAN
TURKEY
AFGHANISTAN
PAKISTAN
ASAFOETIDA
Sulphurous | Oniony | Garlic-like
Asafoetida was discovered in Persia
in the 4th century bce by Alexander
the Great’s soldiers, who mistook it
for silphium, a widely used ancient
spice from a similar, and now extinct,
plant. They took it to Asia and the
Mediterranean region, where it
became very popular with the
Greeks and Romans as a substitute
for silphium. Asafoetida was prized
both as a seasoning and for its health-
giving properties, and is cited in many
of the recipes in Apicius, a Roman
cookbook from the 1st century ce.
After the fall of the Roman Empire
it never regained popularity in
Europe, but its use was recorded
again, centuries later, in the Baghdad
Cookery Book (1226). In the 16th
century, the Mughals are reported to
have taken the spice to India, where
it became an indispensable element
of vegetarian and Ayurvedic cuisine
throughout the subcontinent.Spice story
174-175_Asafoetida.indd 174 04/06/2018 15:49