hot pepper vs spice

hot pepper

noun
  • Any of various small peppers of highly notable pungency or heat. 

  • Any of the plants that bear such fruit, especially the species Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens and their numerous subspecies, varieties, or cultivars. 

spice

noun
  • The quality of being spicy. 

  • An aromatic odour. 

  • Appeal, interest; an attribute that makes something appealing, interesting, or engaging. 

  • A synthetic cannabinoid drug. 

  • Aromatic or pungent plant matter (usually dried) used to season or flavour food. 

  • Sweets, candy. 

  • A characteristic touch or taste; smack; flavour. 

verb
  • To add spice or spices to; season. 

  • To spice up. 

How often have the words hot pepper and spice occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )