Pungency 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 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 and allyl isothiocyanate.
A display of hot peppers and the Scoville scale at a supermarket in Houston, Texas
A display of spices in Guadeloupe: some pungent, some not
Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli, are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. Chili peppers are widely used in many cuisines as a spice to add "heat" to dishes. Capsaicin and related compounds known as capsaicinoids are the substances that give chili peppers their intensity when ingested or applied topically. Chili peppers exhibit a range of heat and flavors. This diversity is the reason behind the availability of different types of paprika and chili powder, each offering its own taste and heat level.
Young chili plants
Cayenne peppers, a cultivar of Capsicum annuum, one of the most diverse and commonly grown chili species
Tabasco peppers, like other Capsicum frutescens cultivars, characteristically bear fruits pointing upwards
Capsicum chinense, like Habanero peppers, include the hottest chili cultivars
