Asafoetida

Asafoetida or asafetida is also known as devil's dung or stinking gum. Truly, the aroma is much worse than the flavor.
Although asaofetida has gone out of fashion in western cooking, it was very much appreciated in the past. It combines extremely well with other spices. The Persians considered It was food for the Gods. The ancient Romans depicted asafoetida in coins. It is still very much present in Indian cooking and other parts of western Asia, where it grows wild.

asafoetida comes from the milky sap of a giant fennel plant. The sap from the roots and stem hardens into a resin like substance. This resin darkens with age to a deep brown. The most notable trait of asafoetida is, as its name hints, the disgusting smell, very much like rotten garlic. Nevertheless, the stench disappears in cooking, leaving behind a delicate onion and garlic flavor.

The plants grow up to 10 feet. They have soft centered very fine stems, toothed leaves and clusters of yellow flowers in the summer. All the plant, all its parts, has an unpleasant odor.