asafoetida was used to hang around your neck to keep diseases away....
In later years it has been said that the reason it works is because it smells so bad no one would come near enough to allow you to catch what they have!
The part of the name.."foetid" is the root of the word Foetid....meaning stink...rotton...vile smelling.
I wouldn't be putting that anywhere near anything I was planning to eat!
Linda C

Sounds disgusting to me but I am not a fan of Indian cuisine. Further research explains a bit of the cooking qualities.

"Asafoetida powder is a crucial ingredient in Indian vegetarian cooking.

Also known in India as Hing. Derived from a species of giant fennel, asafoetida has a unique smell and flavor. It is called for often in Indian cooking, primarily with legumes and dishes featuring vegetables such as cauliflower. While on its own, the smell may strike you as overpowering and somewhat unpleasant, in cooking it mellows out and produces a result similar to onion and garlic. In India this ingredient is crucial for the Jains, who do not eat root crops. Asafeotida sap is mixed with gum arabic, wheat, rice flower and turmeric to make the powder we use in cooking."

Michelle

I had some at one time. Supposedly it's useful for mitigating the gassy effects of some Indian dishes. I kept the sealed container wrapped in many layers of Saran Wrap, but still, every time I opened my cabinet, the ghost of that smell came out at me. I threw it away.

I have asafoetida in my spice cabinet...and I use it. I would not say the smell is foul or putrid but I am also not rubbing it behind my ears. If you leave it out of a recipe that calls for it there is a noticeable difference. happily my co-op store has it in the bulk spices area so i do not need to buy a lot at a time.

-Robin

I have used it in a number of dishes, starting with my day of cooking with Manisha last December. I would not say that it has an offensive oder when you smell it in the jar. In fact the first jar that I bought at an Indian market here smelled so mild that I asked Manisha if she thought it was old. It does add to the recipes it is used in and is said to aid digestion. It is definitely not the strongest smell in my spice cabinet. Of course we all react differently to things and have different preferences.

I think Michelle's post covers it well.

Don't hesitate to try it.

Lee, who loves Indian food.

Interesting thread. I've often seem asafoetida as an ingredient in Indian cooking and wondered what kind of impact it would make on the recipe. In my case, it's not available in my area, so it's left out in my cooking. I'm curious as to its physical appearance.. leaves, paste, seeds?

Catherine

It's a yellowy, beigey, powder. The link below has a lot of information and if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can easily see that one jar is from Whole Foods - who would have thought it would be that mainstream!

Lee

Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia on Asafoetida

I knew this was the place to ask! I'm going to have to try it. In British Columbia's Fraser Valley, where I live, there is a sizeable Indian population, so I know I will be able to find it. Probably at the same store where I can buy cardamom for 1.69 for about 2 cups worth! It is beginning to sound like Thai fish sauce - don't smell it - just pour it in and it becomes one with the rest of the flavours. Talk about a need for "re-branding" - anything with the word sh*t in the name is not going to be a big seller!
Jane

What is the proper pronunciation? I've heard older people talk about hanging an "ass-a-fit-a-dy" around their necks when they were young, to ward off illness. I never would have guessed that it's spelled the way it is.

It's nickname is Devil's Dung!

But having said that, the smell disappears with cooking, and becomes much like garlic and onions. You can use garlic instead if you want, but you won't get that 'genuine' flavour which is quite unique. As with saffron, you can use substitutes, but they will never be quite the same as the real thing.

The plant is closely related to fennel, and some people use fennel as a substitute for it.

However, asafoetida has its own unique flavour, which is very worth trying. Use only the veriest pinch, and don't do a taste test of it by itself or you'll regret it.

Keep in mind that some people think garlic is foul too. It all depends ....

I've had Indian dishes with asafoetida in them, and it did make a difference when it was left out when I made a similar dish. It doesn't come through as unpleasant when it is cooked.

I've heard it pronounced Assa-fetta-duh. The bags of it were sometimes known as "fetty bags."

I say 'assa-FEE-ti-da'. The diphthong is the thing that gives it the correct vowel sound. As in 'foetid' - FEE-tid (smelly).

ah-sah-FEH-teh-dah, according to the dictionary.

I think that is a to-may-to ~~ to-mah-to thing. In my dictionary, foetid is "a variation of fetid," and is promounded "fet," to rhyme with met. Then it says the British pronounciation is "fee" to rhyme with bee.

I would not hesitate to try it. After all, doesn't most of us love garlic and it's described in much to same way.

From my newest and also one of my favorites books, "Herbs and Spices, the Cooks Reference" by Jill Norman.

"Asafetida is a dried, resinous gum obtained from three species of Ferula, giant fennel, a tall, fetid smelling, perennial umbellifer native to the dry regions of Iran and Afghanistan, where it is also cultivated. Imported from Persia and Armenia, it was much appreciated in Roman cooking when silphium from Cyrenaica was no longer obtainable. It came to India via the Moghul empire and has remained a popular spice there, although it is only cultivated in the north, in Kashmir.

Powdered asafetida has a strong, unpleasant smell, reminiscent of pickled garlic and as pervasive as that of truffles. The taste is bitter, musky, and acrid - nasty when sampled alone but becoming pleasantly onion-like when the spice is briefly fried in hot oil.

Asafetida is essentially an Indian spice. In western and southern India, it flavors soups, vegetable and legume dishes, pickles, relishes, and sauces. Its flavor is particularly appareciated in the cooking of the Brahmin and Jain sects, whose diet forbids the use of garlic or onions. It is very good in many fish dishes. In its native Iran, it is not used at all and in Afghanistan it is only used with salt, to cure meat that is dried in the sun for winter use.

Asafetida should always be used sparingly. It can be used in any cooked dish where garlic would be appropriate; even a tiny amount enhances the flavor of a dish or spice mix, such as sambhar powder. A piece could be rubbed on a grill or griddle before cooking. It's essential to chat masala, some curry powders, sambhar powder. Good with fresh or salted fish, grains, grilled or roasted meat, legumes, most vegetables.

Solid asafetida is prepared for use by grinding it in a mortar and an absorbent powder suchf as rice flour. Only a small pieces s needed for an individual dish.

Asafetida is most widely available as a powder, mixed with a starch or gum arabic to keep it from lumping. Brown powder is coarse and strong, yellow powder (which owes its color mostly to added turmeric) is more mellow."