| CHIPOTLE | A dark-brown jalapeno pepper with a piquant flavour used in Mexican cuisine (8) |
| TANGY | With a piquant flavour (5) |
| PEPPERY | Seasoned with a piquant burning taste |
| JALAPENO | Pepper with a punch |
| PIRIPIRI | Portuguese pepper with a repeating name |
| SERRANO | Pepper with a "delayed fuse" |
| CILANTRO | Herb used in Mexican cuisine |
| TARRAGON | French herb with a sweet aniseed-like flavour used for Bearnaise sauce (8) |
| DATEPALM | A tree yielding a dark brown oval fruit native to Asia and North Africa (4,4) |
| TAPENADE | From the Provencal meaning "capers", a piquant dip or sauce made from the aforesaid pickled buds with anchovies, black olives and herbs (8) |
| BALSAMIC | ___ vinaigrette (salad dressing made with a dark brown vinegar) |
| CAPSICUM | Pepper with better sort of music (8) |
| OVERRIPE | Like a dark- brown banana |
| ARAME | Edible seaweed with mild flavour used in Japanese cuisine (5) |
| SUMAC | Claret-coloured spice with a lemony flavour used in za'atar (5) |
| ANCHO | Dried form of the poblano chilli pepper (Capsicum annuum) widely used in Mexican cuisine; Spanish, 'wide' (5) |
| CAPER | Bramble-like shrub with buds often pickled or salted as a piquant garnish or seasoning; a playful leap; a ridiculous escapade; a heist; or, a film based on such a crime (5) |
| DIABLE | Meaning "devil", word for a terracotta pot with a handle that also refers to a piquant or spicy French brown sauce with black pepper and cayenne (6) |
| STARANISE | Small fruit with an aniseed flavour used in cookery (4,5) |
| SAVOURY | Based on the Latin for "taste", a word used to describe a piquant, salty or spicy flavour as opposed to sweet; or, a dish, canape, nibble, snack etc with said umami quality (7) |
