Pungency

Pungency (/ˈpʌndʒənsi/ ⓘ) refers to the taste of food commonly referred to as spiciness, hotness or heat,[1][2][3] 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[4] that are "agreeably stimulating to the palate". Examples of piquant food include mustard and curry.

"Spicy" redirects here. For other uses, see Spicy (disambiguation).
A display of hot peppers and the Scoville scale at a supermarket in Houston, Texas

Terminology

In colloquial speech, the term "pungency" can refer to any strong, sharp smell or flavor.[5][6] However, in scientific speech, it refers specifically to the "hot" or "spicy" quality of chili peppers. It is the preferred term by scientists as it eliminates the ambiguity arising from use of "hot", which can also refer to temperature, and "spicy", which can also refer to spices.[1][2][7]

For instance, a pumpkin pie can be both hot (out of the oven) and spicy (due to the common inclusion of spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, mace, and cloves), but it is not pungent. Conversely, pure capsaicin is pungent, yet it is not naturally accompanied by a hot temperature or spices.

As the Oxford, Collins, and Merriam-Webster dictionaries explain, "piquancy" can refer to mild pungency,[6] that is, flavors and spices that are much less strong than chilli peppers, including, for example, the strong flavor of some tomatoes. In other words, pungency always refers to a very strong taste whereas piquancy refers to any spices and foods that are "agreeably stimulating to the palate", in other words to food that is spicy in the general sense of "well-spiced".

Mildly pungent or sour foods may be referred to as tangy.

Uses

Pungency is often quantified in scales that range from mild to hot. The Scoville scale measures the pungency of chili peppers, as defined by the amount of capsaicin they contain.

A display of spices in Guadeloupe: some pungent, some not

Pungency is not considered a taste in the technical sense because it is carried to the brain by a different set of nerves. While taste nerves are activated when consuming foods like chili peppers, the sensation commonly interpreted as "hot" results from the stimulation of somatosensory fibers in the mouth. Many parts of the body with exposed membranes that lack taste receptors (such as the nasal cavity, genitals, or a wound) produce a similar sensation of heat when exposed to pungent agents.

The pungent sensation provided by chili peppers, black pepper and other spices like ginger and horseradish plays an important role in a diverse range of cuisines across the world.

Pungent substances, like capsaicin, are used in topical analgesics and pepper sprays.[8][9]

Mechanism

Pungency is sensed via chemesthesis, the sensitivity of the skin and mucous membranes to chemical substances. Substances such as piperine, capsaicin, and thiosulfinates can cause a burning or tingling sensation by inducing a trigeminal nerve stimulation together with normal taste reception. The pungent feeling caused by allyl isothiocyanate, capsaicin, piperine, and allicin is caused by activation of the heat thermo- and chemosensitive TRP ion channels including TRPV1 and TRPA1 nociceptors. The pungency of chilies may be an adaptive response to microbial pathogens.[1]

See also

References
  1. Tewksbury, J. J.; Reagan, K. M.; Machnicki, N. J.; Carlo, T. A.; Haak, D. C.; Penaloza, A. L. C.; Levey, D. J. (2008). "Evolutionary ecology of pungency in wild chilies". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (33): 11808–11811. Bibcode:2008PNAS..10511808T. doi:10.1073/pnas.0802691105. PMC 2575311. PMID 18695236.
  2. "Chile Terminology" (PDF). Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  3. "Chile Heat" (PDF). Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  4. "Merriam-Webster Dictionary: "Piquant"". Merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  5. "Pungency". Collins English Dictionary. February 3, 2014. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  6. "Merriam-Webster Dictionary: "Pungent"". Merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  7. Haak, D. C.; McGinnis, L. A.; Levey, D. J.; Tewksbury, J. J. (2011). "Why are not all chilies hot? A trade-off limits pungency". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 279 (1735): 2012–2017. doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.2091. PMC 3311884. PMID 22189403.
  8. "Capsaicin". PubChem, US National Library of Medicine. 29 April 2023. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  9. Anand, P.; Bley, K. (October 2011). "Topical capsaicin for pain management: therapeutic potential and mechanisms of action of the new high-concentration capsaicin 8% patch". British Journal of Anaesthesia. 107 (4): 490–502. doi:10.1093/bja/aer260. ISSN 0007-0912. PMC 3169333. PMID 21852280.
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