Timeline for Difference between "spicy" and "hot"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
20 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jun 22, 2023 at 12:18 | comment | added | Araucaria - Him | That Wikipedia article doesn't (perhaps no longer, haven't checked) recommend the use of piquancy for Scoville type hotness. In fact they explain that the word would not apply to a chilly on its own. They also explain that the word can, in fact apply to a flavoursome tomato. And it cannot apply to something uncomfortable. My main niggle, however, is that reserving hot to refer to temperature doesn't reduce any ambiguity, because other people also use hot to refer to Scoville type heat. Readers or listeners will have no idea about your personal style predilections. Why should they? | |
| May 2, 2013 at 20:52 | comment | added | Gnawme | @rajah9 Yes, that scene always comes to mind when I hear or use the word piquant. | |
| May 2, 2013 at 18:46 | comment | added | rajah9 | There's an episode of Star Trek Voyager in which Tuvok remarks that the plomeek soup (prepared by a Talaxian) was unpalatably piquant. (en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Talax-ilzay). If only humans had a comparable grasp on their own language as a Vulcan. From chakoteya.net/Voyager/113.htm: TUVOK: It is rather (cough) piquant. NEELIX: It is zesty, isn't it. I tried following the recipe in the computer's databank but it seemed so bland, so I took the liberty of spicing it up a bit. Call it plomeek soup a la Neelix. | |
| Jan 18, 2012 at 5:10 | comment | added | Gnawme | @mikera Lest you forget, I'm answering the OP, who was told that there is no difference between spicy and hot, which is patently untrue. As someone who not only cooks curries (most of which are spicy), but Southwestern and Thai dishes as well (many of which are distinctly piquant), I find "general usage" inadequate. When a friend of mine bites into my black pepper chicken (made with a healthy helping of Thai bird chilies) and exclaims, "Ooh, that's spicy!" I say, "No, dear, it's piquant. My coconut curry is spicy; here, taste the difference..." | |
| Jan 18, 2012 at 2:44 | comment | added | mikera | This is a very misleading answer which does not reflect current general usage. The linked Wikipedia article is using piquant according to a fairly technical definition which would only be used by food experts (presumably the author of the article falls into this category). As an native English speaker and regular curry connoisseur in London, I can guarantee that if you follow the recommendation in this answer you will just end up confusing everyone. | |
| Dec 2, 2011 at 8:30 | comment | added | sarah | @Gnawme Thanks for the Curried link. (Despite this: the *word* that describes it best *is called* piquancy.) Answer & comment up-voted with hopes that this distinction will become more prevalent, and I'll no longer get my taste buds cauterized by hot food misleadingly described as merely spicy. | |
| Dec 2, 2011 at 7:41 | comment | added | Gnawme | @sarah: Perhaps this entry in Curried.com's blog has the answer you seek? | |
| Dec 2, 2011 at 7:31 | history | edited | Gnawme | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Changed link for Scoville scale
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| Dec 2, 2011 at 7:21 | comment | added | sarah | :) I'm not sure using piquant does eliminate the ambiguity, because in several definitions Scoville scale heat isn't a given. For instance: Pleasantly pungent or tart in taste; *spicy* and stimulating to the taste; *giving zest*; tart; sharp; pungent from: wordnik.com/words/piquant. Also, synonyms for piquant include highly-seasoned, savory, spicy, tangy, tart, well-flavored, and zesty here:thesaurus.com/browse/piquant. As a spicy food lover, but a wimp about hot food, this is a question I might have asked, so I'm hoping for a definitive answer. | |
| Dec 2, 2011 at 6:56 | comment | added | Gnawme | @sarah: (Sorry, let's try again.) Are you down-voting based on an entry in a single dictionary? (Especially from a sense of hot that ranks no higher than fourth in most dictionaries?) I suggested the use of piquant precisely to disambiguate spicy hot from, say, piping hot. | |
| Dec 1, 2011 at 11:11 | comment | added | Polynomial | @Wudang - Speaking of which, I've heard serious spice-fanatics call a particularly hot dish "Scovillian". | |
| Nov 30, 2011 at 17:45 | comment | added | Gnawme | @Wudang: Yes, but note that articles about the Scoville scale always qualify that it measures the spicy heat or piquant heat. Also, the OP was told that there was no difference between hot and spicy, which isn't so. | |
| Nov 30, 2011 at 17:23 | comment | added | Gnawme | @onomatomaniak: Dunno; ever heard of salsa picante? And when I'm cooking, this exchange from STV oftens pops into my head: NEELIX: Here we are Mister Tuvok, one bowl of authentic Vulcan plomeek soup. TUVOK: It is rather (cough) piquant. | |
| Nov 30, 2011 at 9:30 | comment | added | Wudang | +1 onomatomaniak. My Pocket OED defines piquant as "agreeably pungent, stimulating". I doubt anyone would apply that to a Thai red curry or a phal. "Hot ..(of pepper &c.) pungent" - note the lack of "agreeably". Note also that Scoville gives Scoville Heat Units so that rather argues against the wikipedia article. | |
| Nov 30, 2011 at 8:51 | comment | added | user13141 | Though OP might want to note that virtually no one (other than perhaps a restaurant critic or cookbook author) would describe a seriously spicy dish as piquant. | |
| Nov 30, 2011 at 7:31 | comment | added | Gnawme | You're welcome. As always, the mechanisms of voting on this site are a mystery to me. | |
| Nov 30, 2011 at 6:50 | vote | accept | Dave | ||
| Nov 30, 2011 at 6:50 | comment | added | Dave | Wikipedia - is there anything it doesn't know? Thanks for the awesome answer. I have a new fancy word to both expand my vocabulary and annoy the common person. | |
| Nov 30, 2011 at 6:33 | history | edited | Gnawme | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
edited body
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| Nov 30, 2011 at 5:22 | history | answered | Gnawme | CC BY-SA 3.0 |