We all know sweet, sour and salty perfectly well, but what about pungent, astringent, and effervescent? The best chefs know how to use a whole host of sensations to control a diner’s journey: cooling before heat, numbing before spice, bubbles to cut richness.

Sensations are tools you wield to shape perception, add excitement, and control the eating experience like a culinary puppet master. Understanding this isn’t just trivia—it’s power.

Let’s break these sensations down properly.

The Six Major Sensations

1. Spiciness (Heat) – The Pain You Love

Ever eaten something so spicy that you felt your soul leave your body, but somehow you kept going? That’s because capsaicin, the compound responsible for spiciness, doesn’t actually burn you—it just tricks your brain into thinking you’re on fire. You’re experiencing actual pain, but your masochistic self keeps reaching for more.

I’m the first to recognize that spiciness isn’t for everyone. However, a little bit of spice goes a long way, and this is the most frequent sensation I aim for when I cook.

Where You’ll Find It:

• Chili peppers – Jalapeños, habaneros, Thai chilies, ghost peppers (if you hate yourself)
• Spicy sauces – Sriracha, hot sauce
• Curries and spicy stews – Thai, Indian, Mexican, Sichuan cuisine—pick your poison
• Specialty peppers (like the Carolina Reaper and Ghost Pepper), if you have a deathwish.

Think of spice as the volume knob on intensity—it dials up excitement, keeps you coming back for more, and lingers just long enough to make things interesting. At the same time, fat and dairy act like a mute button for heat, while acid sharpens it. The real trick? Balancing them just right so you get heat without overpowering everything else.

Want to make a dish feel more electric? Add just enough spice to get that slow, creeping burn—not a full-on assault, but a whisper of heat that keeps you reaching for another bite.

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2. Cooling – The Great Deception

Cooling is the snake oil salesman of food sensations. You pop a mint into your mouth, and suddenly you think it’s actually colder? Nope. You’ve been tricked, my friend. Menthol and its buddies (eucalyptol, camphor) fool you into feeling cold. It’s not real, but it feels like it.

Funny story, your brain’s receptors for “Youch, that’s too hot!” are completely different from the ones that say “Yo, I’m too cold!” So technically, you can activate both of these sensors at once.

Where You’ll Find Cooling It:

• Mint – Peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint
• Eucalyptus – Ever had those throat drops that make your whole head feel like a winter wonderland? That’s the stuff.
• Camphor-heavy spices – Star anise, cardamom (adds both warmth and coolness, because why not)

Ever noticed how a really good curry always comes with something cool on the side? That’s not an accident—it’s strategy. It’s a pressure release valve for heat. You can use it to tame spice, brighten heavy dishes, or add an unexpected layer of complexity.

Ultimately, cooling is the ultimate counterbalance tool—a trickster that convinces your brain it's feeling relief. It’s why mint yogurt works with fiery curries, why peppermint ice cream feels lighter than vanilla, and why spearmint can make even a fatty lamb dish taste fresh.

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3. Astringency – The Mouth-Puckering Tightrope Walk

You know with certain foods, sometimes your tongue feels like an old leather boot? Congratulations, you’ve met astringency. It’s caused by tannins, which bind to the proteins in your saliva and strip the moisture from your mouth. Some people love it; some people think it’s the universe telling them they made a mistake.

Personally I hate astringency because my main experiences with it are in things I shouldn’t eat anyway, like grape skins and that one time I bit into a banana peel. However, it’s also a major element to some specialty chocolates, and it’s never really jived with me. Some people love it… I just wish I were acquainted with it well enough that I could say something useful.

Where You’ll Find It:

• Red wine – Some more than others. A big, bold Cabernet Sauvignon? A tannin bomb.
• Tea – Black tea and green tea, especially if over-steeped, will dry your mouth out like a desert.
• Unripe fruit – Bananas, persimmons, grapes before they’re ready for prime time.

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4. Pungency – The Sharp Kick in the Sinuses

The last time I had a cold, I went to a hot chicken restaurant and ordered the spiciest thing on their menu. The spiciness level had me in tears, which gave me a perfect opportunity to clear my sinuses. But now that I’ve thought about it, I really should have just gone for some sushi and slathered the pieces with tons of wasabi.

Pungency isn’t about heat; it’s about violence. This is the sensation that makes your nose burn and your eyes water—not because it’s spicy, but because it’s basically an olfactory assault. Allyl isothiocyanate (the compound responsible) hits your sinuses like a freight train, clearing everything out whether you asked for it or not.

Where You’ll Find It:

• Horseradish – The root that laughs at your congestion.
• Wasabi – Real wasabi is rare and expensive, so you’re probably just eating green-dyed horseradish.
• Mustard – The more aggressive the mustard, the stronger the hit. English mustard? It doesn’t “burn”—it reaches into your soul and screams directly at your ancestors.

Pungency is the culinary equivalent of a wake-up slap. It hits fast, fades quickly, and leaves everything feeling sharper and more alive. It’s the reason mustard belongs on a greasy burger and why horseradish is so good on roast beef. That sharpness cuts right through the fat, making every bite feel bold instead of heavy. Don’t fear the wasabi on your sushi!

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5. Effervescence – The Fun One

Effervescence is carbonation’s chaotic little dance in your mouth. It adds movement to food, making it feel more alive. Bubbles make things fun. That’s their job. It happens because carbon dioxide dissolves into the liquid and releases as bubbles, irritating the receptors in your mouth. Unlike everything else on this list, it’s pure joy—until you chug too fast and burp like an animal.

Effervescence is actually making a lot of headway these days. Typically we just think of diet coke or champagne, but this sensation is finding its way into solid foods like carbonated grapes, strawberries and watermelon, as well as carbonated ice cream and candies. Plus, fermentation has always been at least a little bit of a thing with fermented foods like kombucha, kefir and kimchi (yes, even kimchi, some say).

Where You’ll Find It:

• Carbonated drinks – Soda, sparkling water, champagne, beer, anything bubbly.
• Fermented foods – Think kombucha or naturally fizzy kefir.
• Pop Rocks – Science took carbonation and weaponized it into candy form.

In my typical usage, bubbles reset your palate, cut through heaviness, and make flavors feel brighter. It’s like the bubbles scrub your mouth clean before your next bite, which is why sparkling water or champagne are so popular with fried food.

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6. Numbing – The Strange and Wonderful Buzz

Now we get to hydroxy-alpha-sanshool, the compound that makes Sichuan peppercorns one of the weirdest and most fascinating ingredients on the planet. This sensation isn’t quite spiciness, but it’s not quite cooling either. It feels like static electricity buzzing in your mouth—which is why Sichuan cuisine uses it to create the legendary "mala" (numbing and spicy) effect.

This numbing effect is pretty rare in foods. In fact, in the U.S. you’ll almost never find it—American Chinese restaurants usually forego the Sichuan peppers (which are expensive to import) and just use local chili peppers instead, so their food is spicy, not numbing.

Where You’ll Find It:

• Sichuan peppercorns – If you’ve never tried them, you’re missing out. This is what happens when your tongue tries to astral project mid-meal.
• Electric daisies ("Buzz buttons") – Yep, there’s a flower that numbs your tongue too.
• Some wild peppers – Certain exotic peppers can have mild numbing effects as well.

Think of numbing as spice’s mischievous sidekick—it doesn’t fight the heat, it messes with how you feel it. It bends and warps the way you experience heat, turning every bite into something unpredictable.

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So what?

Next time you eat, don’t just taste—feel. What’s burning? What’s tingling? What’s numbing? The best meals hit your entire mouth. Learn to balance these sensations, and you’ll never cook (or eat) the same way again.

    Matthew Christensen
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2023
    Email the author! matthew@dvo.com