Sharp and pungent
Mustard, horseradish, wasabi and black pepper: the bite that reaches the nose.
Pungent spices have a sharp, penetrating bite that reaches the nose and sinuses. Mustard, horseradish, wasabi, black pepper, ginger and garlic belong here.
What makes them pungent
Mustard, horseradish and wasabi make isothiocyanates when the plant is crushed, which creates a quick nose-clearing sting. Black pepper's piperine gives a more lasting bite. Ginger's gingerols and garlic's allicin give their own sharp edge.
How cooks use them
Mustard is used in Indian, German, French and English food, wasabi with Japanese raw fish, horseradish with roast beef, and pepper nearly everywhere. Pungency fades with heat or time, so many are added at the end.
Sensation
Pungent bite is different from chilli burn. It comes quickly, then fades, and does not linger on the tongue.
Sharp and pungent on EveryMasala
The spices written up so far, best known first.
🇵🇪 Peru and 3 moreBlack mintHuacatay
A South American marigold herb used as a paste or dried seasoning in Andean cookingLeaf · Herbal and green · Sharp and pungent
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreClove
The dried flower bud of a tropical tree, prized for its intense warmth and numbing bite.Flower · Sharp and pungent · Warm and sweet-spiced
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau and 5 moreCalabash nutmeg
The dried seed of a West African tree, used as a local substitute for nutmeg.Warm and sweet-spiced · Sweet and mellow
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreCulantroជីរបន្លា
A tropical herb with serrated leaves, offering a deep and pungent coriander flavour.Leaf · Herbal and green · Sharp and pungent
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChenpi陳皮
Sun-dried mandarin orange peel aged for use in Chinese cooking and medicineFruit · Sweet and mellow · Sharp and pungent
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreMyoga茗荷
The edible flower buds and shoots of a woodland ginger native to East Asia.Flower · Sharp and pungent · Citrus and bright
🇻🇳 Vietnam and 4 moreHouttuynia折耳根
A heart-shaped herb with a sharp fishy taste used in salads and teas across Asia.Leaf · Sharp and pungent · Citrus and bright
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 5 moreKencur沙姜
A stemless ginger-family rhizome with a peppery, camphorous biteRoot · Sharp and pungent · Herbal and green
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreTorch gingerkecombrang
The edible pink flower bud of a rhizomatous plant, used for sourness in Southeast Asian cooking.Flower · Sour and tart · Sharp and pungent
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBlack pepper
The dried fruit of a climbing vine, the world's most traded spice.Sharp and pungent · Hot and fiery
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreGinger
The pungent rhizome of a flowering plant, widely used as a spice and folk medicine.Root · Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇯🇵 JapanKōrēgusuコーレーグス
A Ryukyuan chili sauce made by soaking hot peppers in Awamori rice spirit.Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇦🇹 Austria and 5 moreCaraway
The crescent-shaped fruit of a carrot-family plant, used to flavour rye bread and spirits.Seed · Sharp and pungent · Anise and liquorice
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Clove: Bayu Nugroho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Houttuynia: Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chenpi: Dboxes, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Black pepper: Rainer Zenz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Caraway: Slick, CC0, source
- Kōrēgusu: ayustety, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kencur: Hariadhi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Myoga: Mariko GODA, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Torch ginger: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calabash nutmeg: Samuel Curtis and William Jackson Hooker, Public domain, source
- Culantro: Maxintaft, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ginger: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, source
- Black mint: Arthur Chapman, CC BY 2.0, source