| Asafoetida | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ferula scorodosma syn. assafoetida | ||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Ferula assafoetida L. |
Asafoetida (Ferula assafoetida), alternative spelling asafetida, pronounced /æsəˈfɛtɪdə/ [1] (also known as devil's dung, stinking gum, asant, food of the gods, hing, Hilteet, and giant fennel) is a species of Ferula native to Iran. Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Ferula (from Latin ferula, "rod" is a Genus of about 170 Species of Flowering plants in the family For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. It is an herbaceous perennial plant growing to 2 m tall, with stout, hollow, somewhat succulent stems 5-8 cm diameter at the base of the plant. A herbaceous plant (or in botanical use a Herb) is a Plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of A perennial plant or perennial ( Latin per, "through" annus, "year" is a Plant that lives for more than The leaves are 30–40 cm long, tripinnate or even more finely divided, with a stout basal sheath clasping the stem. The flowers are yellow, produced in large compound umbels. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also An umbel is an Inflorescence which consists of a number of short Flower stalks (called pedicels) which are equal in length and spread from a common
Asafoetida has a foul smell when raw, but in cooked dishes, it delivers a smooth flavor, reminiscent of leeks. The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var porrum (L also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs along with the Onion and
Contents |
Uses
Cooking
This spice is used as a digestive aid, in food as a condiment and in pickles. Its odor is so strong that it must be stored in airtight containers; otherwise the aroma, which is nauseating in quantities, 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[1]. Ghee ( Hindi घी ghī, Urdu گھی ghī, Punjabi ਘਿਉ/گھیو ghiu, Kashmiri ग्याव/گیاو Organicsalsajpg||thumb|right|Onions used in salsa.]]Cooked onions in frying pan Allium sativum L, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the Onion family Alliaceae. In India, it is used especially by the merchant caste of the Hindus and by adherents of Jainism, who do not eat onions or garlic. Castes are Hereditary systems of occupation, Endogamy, social culture, Social class, and Political power. Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. It is used in most vegetarian and lentil dishes to both add flavor and aroma and reduce flatulence. It is mainly grown in Iran, Afghanistan. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, The Indian companies Laljee Godhoo, Laxmi Hing (R M Kanani & Co - Gujarat) are the world's largest producers of compounded asafoetida.
Impact on health and medical applications
Asafetida has certain medicinal uses and most commonly is used as a digestive aid. It is reputed to lessen flatulence and is often added to lentil or eggplant dishes in small quantities. Flatulence is the production of a mixture of gases in the digestive tract of Mammals that are byproducts of the digestion process It is also said to be helpful in cases of asthma and bronchitis. Asthma is a chronic Condition involving the Respiratory system in which the airways occasionally constrict become inflamed, and are Bronchitis is an Inflammation of the Bronchi. More specifically it may refer to Acute bronchitis, caused by viruses or bacteria and lasting A folk tradition remedy for children's colds: it is mixed into a foul-smelling paste and hung in a bag around the afflicted child's neck. In Thailand it is used to aid babies' digestion and is smeared on the child's stomach in an alcohol tincture known as "mahahing". In Medicine, a tincture is an Alcoholic Extract (eg of leaves or other plant material or Solution of a non- volatile substance John C Duval reported in 1936 that the odor of asafetida is attractive to the wolf, a matter of common knowledge, he says, along the Texas/Mexico border.
Asafetida has also been reported to have contraceptive/abortifacient activity[2], and is related (and considered an inferior substitute to) the ancient Ferula species Silphium. Birth control, sometimes synonymous with contraception, is a regimen of one or more actions devices or Medications followed in order to deliberately prevent An abortifacient is a substance that induces Abortion. Abortifacients for Animals that have mated undesirably are known as Mismating shots Silphium (also known as silphion or laser) was a plant of the Genus Ferula.
Asafoetida oleo-gum-resin has been reported to be antiepileptic in classical Unani as well as ethnobotanical literature. [3]
Other practical or spiritual uses
It is also used as one of several possible scent baits, most notably for catfish and pike.
In Jamaica, asafetida is traditionally applied to a baby's anterior fontanel (Jamaican patois "mole") in order to prevent spirits (Jamaican patois "duppies") from entering the baby through the fontanel. References in Pop Culture The dragon in John Gardner's 1971 novel Grendel makes reference to the fontanele as a mark of the universe's progress
History
It was familiar in the early Mediterranean, having come by land across Iran, and was popular in any self-respecting Classical kitchen. Though it is generally forgotten now in Europe, it is still widely used in India (commonly known there as hing). It emerged into Europe from a conquering expedition of Alexander the Great, who after returning from a trip to north-eastern Persia (modern Afghanistan), thought they had found a plant almost identical to the famed silphium of Cyrene in north Africa -- though less tasty. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Silphium (also known as silphion or laser) was a plant of the Genus Ferula. Cyrene (in Greek, Κυρήνη &ndash Kurene) was an ancient Greek Colony in present-day Libya, the oldest and most Dioscorides, in the first century, wrote that, "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. Pedanius Dioscorides (Πεδάνιος Διοσκορίδης ca The 1st century was the Century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. " Nevertheless, it could be substituted for silphium in cooking, which was fortunate, because a few decades after Dioscorides time, the true silphium of Cyrene went extinct, and Asafoetida gained in popularity, by physicians as well as cooks. [4]
After the Roman Empire fell, until the 16th century, asafoetida was rare in Europe, and if ever encountered, is was viewed as a medicine. "If used in cookery, it would ruin every dish because of its dreadful smell," asserted García de Orta's European guest. Garcia de Orta (1501 or 1502 – 1568 was a Renaissance Portuguese Jewish physician and naturalist Nonsense, García replies, "nothing is more widely used in every part of India, both in medicine and in cookery. All the Hindus who can afford it buy it to add to their food. The rich Brahmins, and all the Hindus who are vegetarian, eat a lot of it. They add it to their vegetables and herbs, and first rubbing the cooking pot with it: it is seasoning, sauce, and condiment in every dish they eat. "[4]
Cultivation and manufacture
The resin-like gum which comes from the dried sap extracted from the stem and roots is used as a spice. Resin, not to be confused with Rosin, is a Hydrocarbon Secretion of many Plants particularly coniferous trees. Natural gums are Polysaccharides of natural origin capable of causing a large Viscosity increase in solution even at small concentrations A spice is a dried Seed, Fruit, Root, Bark or vegetative substance used in Nutritionally insignificant quantities as a Food additive The resin is grayish-white when fresh, but dries to a dark amber color. The asafetida resin is difficult to grate, and is traditionally crushed between stones or with a hammer. Today, the most commonly available form is compounded asafetida, a fine powder containing 30% asafetida resin, along with rice flour and gum arabic. Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many Flour is a powder made of Cereal grains It is the key ingredient of Bread, which is a staple food in many countries and therefore the availability Gum arabic, a Natural gum also called gum acacia, and chaar gund or char goond (in India is the hardened Sap taken from two species
Ferula assafoetida is an herbaceous, monoecious, perennial plant of the family Umbelliferae. It grows to 2 m high with a circular mass of leaves. Flowering stems are 2. 5–3 m high and 10 cm thick, with a number of schizogenous ducts in the cortex containing the resinous gum. Stem leaves have wide sheathing petioles. Compound large umbels arise from large sheaths. Flowers are pale greenish yellow. Fruits are oval, flat, thin, reddish brown and have a milky juice. Roots are thick, massive, and pulpy. It yields a resin similar to that of the stems. All parts of the plant have the distinctive fetid smell. [5]
Composition
Typical asafoetida contains about 40-64% resin, 25% endogeneous gum, 10-17% volatile oil, and 1. 5-10% ash. The resin portion is known to contain asareninotannols 'A' and 'B', ferulic acid, umbelliferone and four unidentified compounds. [6]
Etymology
Asafoetida's English and scientific name is derived from the Persian word for resin (asa) and Latin foetida, which refers to its strong sulfurous odor. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Its pungent odor has resulted in its being called by many unpleasant names; thus in French it is known (among other names) as Merde du Diable (Devil's Shit); in some dialects of English too it was known as Devil's Dung, and equivalent names can be found in most Germanic languages (e. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. g. German Teufelsdreck [7], Swedish Dyvelsträck, Dutch Duivelsdrek, Afrikaans Duiwelsdrek), also in Finnish Pirunpaska or Pirunpihka. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside In Turkish, it is known as Şeytantersi, Şeytan bökösu or Şeytanotu (the Devil's Herb). Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. In many of the Indo-Aryan languages it is known as hing or "Heeng". The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic) are a branch of the Indo-European language family Another name occurs in many Dravidian languages (e. The Dravidian family of languages includes approximately 73 languages (including the four literary languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada g. Telugu Inguva, Kannada Ingu), but Tamil (perungaayam) and Malayalam kaayam come from a different root. Kannada (kn [[wiktಕನ್ನಡ ಕನ್ನಡ]] Kannaḍa) is one of the major Dravidian languages of India, spoken predominantly in the state Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent.
References
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED) published by the Oxford University Press (OUP is a comprehensive Dictionary of the English asafœtida. Second edition, 1989.
- ^ Riddle, John M. 1992. Contraception and abortion from the ancient world to the Renaissance. Harvard University Press p. 28 and references therein.
- ^ Traditional Systems of Medicine By Abdin, M Z Abdin, Y P Abrol. Published 2006 Alpha Science Int'l Ltd. ISBN 8173197075
- ^ a b Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices By Andrew Dalby. Published 2000 University of California Press Spices/ History 184 pages ISBN 0520236742
- ^ Abstract from Medicinal Plants of the World, Volume 3 Chemical Constituents, Traditional and Modern Medicinal Uses. Humana Press. ISBN 978-1-58829-129-5 (Print) 978-1-59259-887-8 (Online) DOI 10. 1007/978-1-59259-887-8_6 Author: Ivan A. Ross http://www.springerlink.com/content/k358h1m6251u5053/
- ^ Handbook of Indices of Food Quality and Authenticity By Rekha S. Singhal, Pushpa R. Kulkarni. Published 1997 Woodhead Publishing Food industry and trade ISBN 1855732998 . . . Note there is more good information about the composition in this reference, page 395.
- ^ Thomas Carlyle's well-known 19th century novel Sartor Resartus concerns a German philosopher named Teufelsdröckh. Thomas Carlyle (4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881 was a Scottish essayist satirist and historian whose work was highly influential during the Victorian era. Thomas Carlyle 's major work Sartor
External links
- Botany, etymology, uses - detailed
- Off-the-Wall baits for persnikity catfish
- additional facts, sample recipe using in place of garlic
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic