nounB2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speech — spice sits at #3,618neutral
Spiciness is the burning quality that hot seasoning gives. Measure the spiciness.
It is not a taste at all but a pain signal, which is why milk helps and water does not. Spiciness comes from a chemical the plant makes to stop mammals eating its seeds.