Interesting. I agree on the ineffable quality of bay leaves, but asafoetida is exactly on the opposite end of the spectrum. It has a very strong pungent smell a

Interesting. I agree on the ineffable quality of bay leaves, but asafoetida is exactly on the opposite end of the spectrum. It has a very strong pungent smell and taste. But it does come diluted with gluten (wheat) so maybe your particular brand has more gluten than usual? Also it's probably worth pointing out that the bay leaves used in Indian cooking is different from bay leaves used in Western cooking, so beware. Indian bay leaves have three veins coming from the central vein on them.