I use ” spicy” to make it as well as yummy. Of course, some people use ” too spicy ” or ” too hot “. It is not uncommon to use this word. I agree that “hot” can be confused with temperature, so my go to word is “spicy”.

Foods that are fast may sometimes be labeled as “hot and spicy” (often in a restaurant description).

To describe peppers, chili is not only used as a stew, but for many other foods. In America, I usually only see it occasionally on salsa labels.

“Pungent” means a sharp smell.

Piquant is more formal and something that could be found in a food critic’s vocabulary. I want

to be specific between both: “Piquant”- “Piquant” or I just call it “Piquant”.