Pungency

Pungency (/ˈpʌndʒənsi/ ^ⓘ) refers to the taste of food commonly referred to as spiciness, hotness or heat, found in foods such as chili peppers. Highly pungent tastes may be experienced as unpleasant. The term piquancy (/ˈpiːkənsi/) is sometimes applied to foods with a lower degree of pungency that are "agreeably stimulating to the palate". Examples of piquant food include mustard and curry. The primary substances responsible for pungent taste are capsaicin, piperine (in peppers) and allyl isothiocyanate (in radish, mustard and wasabi).