In the excerpt, the word "pungent" refers to the pickles' aroma.
Pungent is a word to describe a very strong smell, very sharp and biting. So when Untermeyer used the word pungent to refer to the pickles, he was talking about their aroma, which is a fancy way to say smell.
It is a run-on sentence, because there needs to be a comma after 'his food'. If there were, it would be a normal sentence, but since there isn't, it is a run-on sentence, meaning it lacks the appropriate punctuation mark.
The credibility of the sites being used.
