"Tooth or Consequences" The Asafisity Bag

[bossradio93]

I was watching the Sanford and Son episode entitled "Tooth or Consequences" (on DVD) where Lamont convinces Fred to get him to the dentist to have his tooth pulled to which Fred flatly refuses. One method Fred uses is when his friend Bubba came to offer Fred something that would cure Fred of his toothache problems. He brought over the asafisity bag to Fred and Lamont's surprise smelled really horrible!! Bubba explained he got the remedy from his grandmother!


Does anyone know what an asafisity bag (acifidity) is and what it's made from? I tried to search on the topic but haven't gotten much results from it. I know it used to be a remedy used long ago or it must have been brilliant writing by the Sanford and Son staff.

[nerrad]

"Whoooo weee" That stuff is strong".

[duke4172]

Asafoetida
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Asafoetida


Ferula scorodosma syn. assafoetida
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Apiales

Family: Apiaceae

Genus: Ferula

Species: F. assafoetida


Binomial name
Ferula assafoetida
L.
Asafoetida (Ferula assafoetida, family Apiaceae), alternative spelling asafetida, but also known as devil's dung, stinking gum, asant, food of the gods and giant fennel, is a species of Ferula native to Iran. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 2 m tall, with stout, hollow, somewhat succulent stems 5-8 cm diameter at the base of the plant. The leaves are 30-40 cm long, tripinnate or even more finely divided, with a stout basal sheath clasping the stem. The flowers are yellow, produced in large compound umbels.

Asafoetida's English and scientific name is derived from the Persian word for resin (asa) and Latin foetida, which refers to its strong sulfurous odor. Its pungent odor has resulted in its being called by many unpleasant names; thus in French it is known (among other names) as Merde du Diable (Devil's faeces); in some dialects of English too it was known as Devil's Dung, and equivalent names can be found in most Germanic languages (e.g. German Teufelsdreck), also in Afrikaans as Duiwelsdrek and also Finnish Pirunpaska or Pirunpihka. In Turkish, it is known as Şeytantersi, Şeytan bökösu or Şeytanotu (the Devil's Herb). In many of the Indo-Aryan languages it is known as hing or "Heeng". A related name occurs in many Dravidian languages (e.g. Telugu Inguva, Kannada Ingu), but Tamil (perungaayam) and Malayalam kaayam come from a different root.


[edit] Cultivation and uses
The resin-like gum which comes from the dried sap extracted from the stem and roots is used as a spice. The resin is greyish-white when fresh, but dries to a dark amber color. The asafoetida resin is difficult to grate, and is traditionally crushed between stones or with a hammer. Today, the most commonly available form is compounded asafoetida, a fine powder containing 30% asafoetida resin, along with rice flour and gum arabic.


Jars of commercially available asafoetida powder.This spice is used as a digestive aid, in food as a condiment and in pickles. Its odour is so strong that it must be stored in airtight containers; otherwise the aroma, which is nauseating in quantities, will contaminate other spices stored nearby. However, its smell becomes much milder in cooking and presents an onion-like taste. Some claim that the use of Asafoetida in a marinade or coating for fried fish eliminates the strong smell usually left behind after frying. In India, it is used especially by the trader caste of the Hindus and by adherents of Jainism, who are not allowed to eat onions. It is mainly grown in Iran, Afghanistan and Kashmir.

Asafoetida has certain medicinal uses and most commonly is used as a digestive aid. It is reputed to lessen flatulence and is often added to lentil or eggplant dishes in small quantities. It is also said to be helpful in cases of asthma and bronchitis. A folk tradition remedy for children's colds: it is mixed into a foul-smelling paste and hung in a bag around the afflicted child's neck. An "asfissity bag" around the neck was a common preventative for colds and flu throughout the Southeastern United States, from West Virginia to Georgia, during the early 1900's. To make an asfissity bag to cure a toothache you use the yolk of a rotten egg, the shell of a rotten egg, a rotten carrot, and a whole clove of garlic. You put this in an asfissity bag and wear it around your neck! In Thailand it is used to aid babies' digestion and is smeared on the child's stomach in an alcohol tincture known as "mahahing". John C Duval reported in 1936 that the odor of asafoetida is attractive to the wolf, a matter of common knowledge, he says, along the Texas/Mexican border.

Asafoetida has also been reported to have contraceptive/abortifacient activity, and is related (and considered an inferior substitute to the ancient Ferula species Silphium. It has been reported in human tests as both a contraceptive as well as an abortifacient.[1]


In homeopathic medicine, Asafoetida is used for reverse peristalsis, the sensation of a bubble or a lump in the stomach rising up to the throat[2].

[duke4172]

Fred Sanford received from Bubba an asfissity bag to cure a toothache made from the yolk of a rotten egg, the shell of a rotten egg, a rotten carrot, and a whole clove of garlic

[casualts@cox.net]

Lamont -"that stinkin' stuff....what do you call it?"
Fred -"stinkin' stuff"