Asafoetida or Heeng, a stinking plant derived gum before cooking, looses its stink completely when cooked and transforms the food into a highly palatable dish
Asafoetida or Heeng Did you know that Asafoetida or Heeng, a stinking plant derived gum before cooking, looses its stink completely when cooked and transforms the food into a highly palatable dish? Asafoetida or asafetida known in Indian languages as Hing हींग In Hindi, Hing ಹಿಂಗ್ in Kannada, Peruṅkāyam பெருங்காயம் in Tamil, is the dried latex or oleogum resin exuded from the tap roots of perennial herbs to a few species of the genus Ferula of the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferacaca). A native of Iran with scientific name Ferula assafoetida, name assafoetida is derived from the Persian word for resine 'asa’ and the Latin word foetida. Its sulphurous aroma is stronger than of garlic and hence it is called as devil's dung, stinking gum, asant and hing. Its predecessor plant, Silphium an ancient spice from the region of Cyrene (in modern Libya) was popular in ancient Rome and Greece for cooking and medicine but became extinct by the end of the first ce...
