Asafowhata?

I've recently become increasingly obsessed with the flavor and smell of asafoetida (or devil's dung) - a cooking powder derived from a species of Ferula (the same plant that Prometheus used to smuggle fire to humanity).

I have a jar of delicious mango pickle that I often offer to dinner guests with the warning that it's a very acquired taste. The main point of oddity is the asafoetida, which is quite strong in the pickles. It's incredibly hard to describe. Acrid? Sour? Pungent? These are all correct but, of course, don't capture the essence of the thing. I recommend heading right down to your local Indian food store for a smell.

One last note - asafoetida may have some of the same medicinal properties as its now extinct cousin Silphium, which the Greeks and Romans used so extensively that it was said to be 'worth it's weight in denari'. Chief among Silphium's medicinal uses? Contraceptive.