Definition of "asafetida" []

• A brownish, bitter, foul-smelling resinous material obtained from the roots of several plants of the genus Ferula in the parsley family and formerly used in medicine. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Because the asafetida is the only thing you can smell while this is first cooking, you can actually smell the transformation the raw, frankly disgusting spice undergoes as it cooks, taking on a yummy oniony-garlicky fragrance."
• "On May 7, 1849, an unruly mob hissed and interrupted the Macready's performance including pelting the poor actor with rotten eggs, potatoes, old shoes and a bottle of liquid which may have been something called asafetida, which stank."
• "Hing also known as asafetida is a substitute for onion and galic."