Asafoetida Tincture & Alcohol-Free Extract

Asafoetida (Ferula assa-foetida) is a giant perennial of the carrot family, Apiaceae, native to the dry steppes and mountain slopes of Iran and Afghanistan, with related Ferula species harvested in Central Asia and India. It spends several years as a rosette of large, finely divided grey-green leaves before sending up a stout hollow stem 2 to 3 meters tall topped with broad umbels of pale yellow flowers. The taproot and stem base exude a milky latex when cut, which hardens into the lumpy yellow-brown gum-resin sold as hing; raw it smells powerfully of sulfur and garlic, but fried in oil it turns mellow and savory. We extract the dried herb.