请输入您要查询的百科知识:

 

词条 Pungency
释义

  1. Terminology

  2. Applications

     In foods 

  3. Mechanism

  4. See also

  5. References

  6. External links

Pungency is the condition of having a strong, sharp smell or flavor that is often so strong that it is unpleasant; for example, the pungent smell of a dirty animal.[1][2] Pungency is the technical term used by scientists to refer to the characteristic of food commonly referred to as spiciness or hotness and sometimes heat,[3][4][4] which is found in foods such as chili peppers.

The term piquancy ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|iː|k|ən|s|i}}) is sometimes applied to foods with a lower degree of pungency[2] that are "agreeably stimulating to the palate." Examples of piquant food include mustard and curry.

Terminology

The terms "pungent" ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-pungent.ogg|ˈ|p|ʌ|n|dʒ|ən|t}}) and "pungency" are rarely used in colloquial speech but are preferred by scientists as they eliminate the potential ambiguity arising from use of the words "hot" and "spicy", which can also refer to temperature and the presence of spices, respectively.[3][5][6]

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. (A food critic may nevertheless use the word "piquant" to describe such a pie, especially if it is exceptionally well-seasoned.) 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, the term "piquancy" refers to mild pungency[2] and 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".

Applications

In foods

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.

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, such as Korean, Persian, Turkish, Tunisian, Ethiopian, Hungarian, Indian, Burmese, Indonesian, Laotian, Singaporean, Malaysian, Bangladeshi, Mexican, Peruvian, Caribbean, Pakistani, Somali, Southwest Chinese (including Sichuan cuisine), Sri Lankan, Vietnamese, and Thai cuisines.{{ctn|date=July 2013}}

Mechanism

The scientific term for the effect of pungency is chemesthesis. Substances such as piperine and capsaicin cause a burning sensation by inducing a trigeminal nerve reaction 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 selection by microbial pathogens.[3]

See also

{{Portal|Food}}
  • Pyruvate scale
  • Scoville scale
  • Thermoception

References

1. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/pungency#pungency_1 |title=Pungency |publisher=Collins English Dictionary |date=February 3, 2014 |accessdate=February 7, 2014}}
2. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pungent |title=Merriam-Webster Dictionary: "Pungent" |publisher=Merriam-webster.com |accessdate=February 7, 2014}}
3. ^{{cite journal|last1=Tewksbury|first1=J. J.|last2=Reagan|first2=K. M.|last3=Machnicki|first3=N. J.|last4=Carlo|first4=T. A.|last5=Haak|first5=D. C.|last6=Penaloza|first6=A. L. C.|last7=Levey|first7=D. J.|title=Evolutionary ecology of pungency in wild chilies|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|date=2008|volume=105|issue=33|pages=11808–11811|doi=10.1073/pnas.0802691105|pmid=18695236|pmc=2575311}}
4. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/files/tiny_mce/file_manager/educ_info/ChileHeat.pdf |title=Chile Heat |year=2006 |publisher=Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University |accessdate=September 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016183453/http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/files/tiny_mce/file_manager/educ_info/ChileHeat.pdf |archive-date=October 16, 2012}}
5. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/files/tiny_mce/file_manager/educ_info/Chile%20Terminology.pdf |title=Chile Terminology |year=2006 |website= |publisher=Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University |accessdate=September 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016183559/http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/files/tiny_mce/file_manager/educ_info/Chile%20Terminology.pdf |archive-date=October 16, 2012}}
6. ^{{Cite journal |url=http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/279/1735/2012.abstract |title=Why are not all chilies hot? A trade-off limits pungency |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=279 |issue=1735 |pages=2012–2017 |accessdate=September 16, 2012|doi=10.1098/rspb.2011.2091 |pmid=22189403 |pmc=3311884 |year=2011 |last1=Haak |first1=D. C. |last2=McGinnis |first2=L. A. |last3=Levey |first3=D. J. |last4=Tewksbury |first4=J. J. }}

External links

{{wiktionary|pungency|pungent|piquant}}{{Taste}}

2 : Gustation|Pain

随便看

 

开放百科全书收录14589846条英语、德语、日语等多语种百科知识,基本涵盖了大多数领域的百科知识,是一部内容自由、开放的电子版国际百科全书。

 

Copyright © 2023 OENC.NET All Rights Reserved
京ICP备2021023879号 更新时间:2024/11/13 18:13:04