Re: NG - asafoetida

Quoted message said:

Dee,
rec.food.veg.cooking is a moderated ng. Your post will not show
up until the moderator views and approves it. There are other ngs like
that, but most are unmoderated.

As for recipes, try uk.food+drink.indian as most of the asafoetida
recipes seem to be indian.

Dean G.

I always thought asafoetida was a bag of smelly herbs and stuff hung around
people's necks at the turn of the last century to ward off illness
(consumption and the like).

Jill

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

Dee,
rec.food.veg.cooking is a moderated ng. Your post will not show up
until the moderator views and approves it. There are other ngs like
that, but most are unmoderated.

Geez, if it's moderated (which makes me wonder why no ".moderated"😉
you'd think the moderator would at least let her know why her posts are
being rejected.

Priscilla
--
"You can't welcome someone into a body of Christ and then say only
certain rooms are open." -- dancertm in alt.religion.christian.episcopal

jmcquown said:

I always thought asafoetida was a bag of smelly herbs and stuff hung around
people's necks at the turn of the last century to ward off illness
(consumption and the like).

What you're describing is called a pomander.

Asafoetida is a common ingredient in Indian cooking sometimes used as a
substitute for garlic, and you can buy it in a lump or in powdered form at
Indian groceries. No sane person would want to hang it around their neck, as
it smells like a powerful case of body odor.

Ariane
--
Dysfunction: The only consistent feature of all your dissatisfying
relationships is you.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/dysfunction.html

Ariane Jenkins said:

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 13:36:49 -0600, jmcquown <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I always thought asafoetida was a bag of smelly herbs and stuff hung
around people's necks at the turn of the last century to ward off
illness (consumption and the like).

What you're describing is called a pomander.

Asafoetida is a common ingredient in Indian cooking sometimes
used as a substitute for garlic, and you can buy it in a lump or in
powdered form at Indian groceries. No sane person would want to hang
it around their neck, as it smells like a powerful case of body odor.

Ariane

Perhaps it is, but I found this to back up my reading, at least - and I
don't claim it's true, just what I read - about it:

Attributed Medicinal Properties
Asafoetida is known as an antidote for flatulence and is also prescribed for
respiratory conditions like asthma, bronchitis and whooping cough. Its vile
smell has led to many unusual medical claims, mostly stemming from the
belief that it's foetid odour would act as a deterrent to germs. In several
European countries a small piece of the resin would be tied on a string and
hung around childrens necks to protect from disease. The shock of the
sulfurous smell was once thought to calm hysteria and in the days of the
American Wild West it was included in a mixture with other strong spices as
a cure for alcoholism.

Jill

jmcquown said:

Perhaps it is, but I found this to back up my reading, at least - and I
don't claim it's true, just what I read - about it:

Attributed Medicinal Properties
Asafoetida is known as an antidote for flatulence and is also prescribed for
respiratory conditions like asthma, bronchitis and whooping cough. Its vile
smell has led to many unusual medical claims, mostly stemming from the
belief that it's foetid odour would act as a deterrent to germs. In several
European countries a small piece of the resin would be tied on a string and
hung around childrens necks to protect from disease. The shock of the
sulfurous smell was once thought to calm hysteria and in the days of the
American Wild West it was included in a mixture with other strong spices as
a cure for alcoholism.

Jill

Interesting. I can't imagine wanting anything that smelled like an
unwashed armpit hung around my neck, but people have had a lot of weird ideas
about science and medicine. And still do.

However, the "bag of smelly herbs and stuff" you mentioned is more
closely akin to the concept of a pomander. Unlike asafotida which is _one_
plant substance, a pomander would've been a mixture, enclosed in a bag or
box. I don't know if it was used as recently around the turn of the century,
but during the 1300's people did use it in an effort to ward off the Black
Death. The thinking was that perfumes and other scents would negate the
effects of the evil vapors they believed were causing the disease. Nowadays,
people use them simply because they smell nice.

Ariane
--
Dysfunction: The only consistent feature of all your dissatisfying
relationships is you.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/dysfunction.html

Ariane Jenkins said:

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 16:42:05 -0600, jmcquown <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Perhaps it is, but I found this to back up my reading, at least -
and I don't claim it's true, just what I read - about it:

Attributed Medicinal Properties
Asafoetida is known as an antidote for flatulence and is also
prescribed for respiratory conditions like asthma, bronchitis and
whooping cough. Its vile smell has led to many unusual medical
claims, mostly stemming from the belief that it's foetid odour would
act as a deterrent to germs. In several European countries a small
piece of the resin would be tied on a string and hung around
childrens necks to protect from disease. The shock of the sulfurous
smell was once thought to calm hysteria and in the days of the
American Wild West it was included in a mixture with other strong
spices as a cure for alcoholism.

Jill

Interesting. I can't imagine wanting anything that smelled like an
unwashed armpit hung around my neck, but people have had a lot of
weird ideas about science and medicine. And still do.

However, the "bag of smelly herbs and stuff" you mentioned is
more closely akin to the concept of a pomander. Unlike asafotida
which is _one_ plant substance, a pomander would've been a mixture,
enclosed in a bag or box. I don't know if it was used as recently
around the turn of the century, but during the 1300's people did use
it in an effort to ward off the Black Death. The thinking was that
perfumes and other scents would negate the effects of the evil vapors
they believed were causing the disease. Nowadays, people use them
simply because they smell nice.

Ariane

Yep; pomanders smell *nice* 🙂 So that wasn't what I was thinking about the
asafoetida bag. I also think pomanders are more like sachets tucked in with
lingerie (think lavender) or hung in a closet to make things smell nice.

Jill

jmcquown said:

Yep; pomanders smell *nice* 🙂 So that wasn't what I was thinking about the
asafoetida bag.

The description you found mentioned a piece of asafoetida being tied on a
string (vs. a bag) and it seems rather more obscure of a use than its culinary
usage. The reason I brought up pomanders was because you specifically
mentioned _bags of herbs and other things_ to ward off illness. Maybe you
recalled bits of history about the bubonic plague, and how it related to
nursery rhymes like "Ring around the rosy". It's a fascinating time period.
The medicinal of use of asafoetida sounds similar in purpose, but the actual
practice you described isn't quite the same.

Quoted message said:

I also think pomanders are more like sachets tucked in with
lingerie (think lavender) or hung in a closet to make things smell nice.

Yeah, like sticking an orange with a bunch of cloves and using that
in a closet. They may have done that back in the Middle Ages, but it would've
been a very expensive luxury for most people. It's interesting how the usage
has changed over time.

Ariane
--
Dysfunction: The only consistent feature of all your dissatisfying
relationships is you.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/dysfunction.html

Ariane Jenkins said:

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 17:17:25 -0600, jmcquown <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Yep; pomanders smell *nice* 🙂 So that wasn't what I was thinking
about the asafoetida bag.

The description you found mentioned a piece of asafoetida being
tied on a string (vs. a bag) and it seems rather more obscure of a
use than its culinary usage. The reason I brought up pomanders was
because you specifically mentioned _bags of herbs and other things_
to ward off illness. Maybe you recalled bits of history about the
bubonic plague, and how it related to nursery rhymes like "Ring
around the rosy". It's a fascinating time period. The medicinal of
use of asafoetida sounds similar in purpose, but the actual practice
you described isn't quite the same.

Quoted message said:

I also think pomanders are more like sachets tucked in with
lingerie (think lavender) or hung in a closet to make things smell
nice.

Yeah, like sticking an orange with a bunch of cloves and using that
in a closet. They may have done that back in the Middle Ages, but it
would've been a very expensive luxury for most people. It's
interesting how the usage has changed over time.

Ariane

I agree - the "bag" thing well... definitely medieval or at least late
1800's. Same thing with some lockets that are made of "laced" silver - you
put pomander in them to smell good, not photos to show your loves picture.
Like I said, I read about it. Didn't say I draped it around my neck on a
string to ward off vampires, evil or illness 🙂 And I have actually stuck
an orange with a bunch of cloves once - smelled very nice.

Jill

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Dee,
rec.food.veg.cooking is a moderated ng. Your post will not show
up until the moderator views and approves it. There are other ngs like
that, but most are unmoderated.

As for recipes, try uk.food+drink.indian as most of the asafoetida
recipes seem to be indian.

Dean G.

I always thought asafoetida was a bag of smelly herbs and stuff hung
around
people's necks at the turn of the last century to ward off illness
(consumption and the like).

Jill

Very interesting that you should mention this. That is one reason that
prompted me to write the ng about asafoetida. I was going thru some private
(WV) journals and I found this mentioned:
"
Asafetida - pressed into cake form it was placed in a small cloth bat to
keep away all kinds of diseases. Many school children used to wear it
suspended from their necks. It is used medically to stimulate the
intestinal and respiratory systems."

WV also used "sang" - gingseng - and ramps, for which they still have ramp
festivals.

Very interesting that such worldly products such as asafetida and gingseng
were products in West Virginis use.

I am almost 70 and never heard of gingseng nor asafetida nor ramps until
later in life, so at least asafetida and gingseng are products of the past.

Dee