scald

[English4everyone]

If we burn our tongue with hot food, we use the word scald. Can we use this word for chili pepper too? Or is there another word for this situation?
Example: The chili was too hot and it scalded my tongue.
Is the example correct?

 

[waflob]

I would actually use 'burned' in this case.

 

[emsr2d2]

Or "burnt".

 

[Barb_D]

I wouldn't even say a hot beverage "scalded" my tongue. I'd say that it "burned" my tongue.

But even if I did say something that was a hot temperature scalded my tongue, I would NOT use that for the type of hot you associate with peppers.

 

[emsr2d2]

Maybe that's another BrE vs AmE difference. I would certainly use "scald" (or "burn") in connection with a very hot beverage. We sometimes describe a very hot liquid as "scalding[ly] hot".

I would point out that I would also use it if I burnt my hand on a hot surface:

I scalded my arm when I brushed it against the kettle.
He scalded his leg on the radiator.

 

[catalian]

If we burn our tongue with hot food, we use the word scald. Can we use this word for chili pepper too? Or is there another word for this situation?
Example: The chili was too hot and it scalded my tongue.
Is the example correct?

Scald is used to to refer to burning by hot liquid or steam. You can in fact scald milk, that is to heat it to just below boiling point. Another culinary use is to scald tomatoes: You put them in boiling water until you can easily remove the skins.

 

[JohnParis]

I quite like the way the Oxford dictionary sums up what everyone has been saying with a note embedded in the meaning of scald.
John

Scald: injure with very hot liquid or steam: the tea scalded his tongue.
See note at burn .
• heat (milk or other liquid) to near boiling point.
• immerse (something) briefly in boiling water for various purposes, such as to facilitate the removal of skin from fruit or to preserve meat.
• cause to feel a searing sensation like that of boiling water on skin : hot tears scalding her eyes.

Note at BURN: The Right Word
If you're not an experienced cook, you're likely to burn your vegetables and char your meat, and, if you put your face too close to the stove, you might even singe your eyebrows. All of these verbs mean to injure or bring about a change in something by exposing it to fire or intense heat.
Burn, which is the most comprehensive term, can mean to change only slightly she burned her face by staying out in the sun) or to destroy completely the factory was burned to the ground).
To char is to reduce a substance to carbon or charcoal the beams in the ceiling were charred by the fire).
Like char, singe and scorch mean to burn only partially or superficially scorched the blouse while ironing it;: singe the chicken before cooking it). Singeing is often done deliberately to remove the hair, bristles, or feathers from the carcass of an animal or bird.
Scald refers specifically to burning with, or as if with, a hot liquid or steam the cook scalded herself when she spilled the boiling water); it can also mean to parboil or heat to a temperature just below boiling scald the milk to make the sauce).
Sear is also a term used in cooking, where it means to brown the outside of a piece of meat by subjecting it briefly to intense heat to seal in the juices.
When it's human flesh that's being seared in surgery, the correct verb is cauterize, which means to burn for healing purposes the doctor cauterized the wound to ward off infection).

 

[Raymott]

Maybe that's another BrE vs AmE difference. I would certainly use "scald" (or "burn") in connection with a very hot beverage. We sometimes describe a very hot liquid as "scalding[ly] hot".

I would point out that I would also use it if I burnt my hand on a hot surface:

I scalded my arm when I brushed it against the kettle.
He scalded his leg on the radiator.

In medical parlance (which does not always accord with the vernacular), a scald is caused by hot liquid or gas - as JohnParis has adequately demonstrated.
So, your doctor would probably not call the above injuries "scalds".

 

[emsr2d2]

In medical parlance (which does not always accord with the vernacular), a scald is caused by hot liquid or gas - as JohnParis has adequately demonstrated.
So, your doctor would probably not call the above injuries "scalds".

Indeed. I'm sure my doctor wouldn't. As far as general English native usage is concerned though, I would and so have my family for as long as I can remember! I'm sure it's not the only word used widely but technically wrongly.

However, learners should, of course, stick to the dictionary definition and usage.