Hot?

It's funny, I can't think of a way to accurately describe the word "hot," as in "spicy hot."

I wrote about my wife's favorite soup, Harirra, in my previous post. I described it as hot, but not spicy hot. I really don't think that there's one singular word in English to describe spicy hot.

Clearly, hot on its own denotes temperature. I could say "Harirra is not hot," but would that then make it a cold soup? I doubt it's ever served cold.

"Spicy" could mean "hot" to some, I suppose, but I equate it with "flavorful."

"Spicy, but not hot," has been uttered to inform someone that a dish is flavorful but lacking in heat. Hmmm.

Perhaps "chile hot," or "pepper hot" (since the heat generally comes from either of these) is an adequate description.

But I'm a little irked that there is no word in English I can think of to describe food that, served cold or hot, makes you want to reach for something to stop the burning. I suppose this is because the old countries produced little food that was naturally "hot."

Susan suggested "piquant," which, while not uncommon, is not English. (I guess the French were always fond of their mustard.) Any other ways anyone can think of? Hello? Anyone? Bueller?