SMELLBOOK REFERENCE · SB-0051
Apple
Permanent ID: smellbook: · updated 2026-10-14, revision 4
Character EDITORIAL
Apple smells crisp, juicy and fresh, opening with a bright green edge and settles into soft sweetness.
Words: fruity, fresh, green, sweet. Families: Fresh and clean, Sweet, fruity and floral.
States: fresh (EDITORIAL), cut (EDITORIAL). A state says how an entry is met, such as wet, aged or roasted. It does not create a new smell, and it adds no scientific fact by itself: states marked EDITORIAL come from the entry's own records, and only those marked VERIFIED are reported by a VERIFIED claim.
Met in: Kitchen.
Evidence
Scientific evidence
- Many volatiles shape apple aroma (CLM-APPLE-001). Yuying Tang, Yijun Yao, Yangyun Wu & Shunbo Yang, The Volatile Composition, Biosynthesis Pathways, Breeding Strategies, and Regulation Measures of Apple Aroma: A Review, Horticulturae, 2025.
- Potent odorants of 'Honeycrisp' apple (CLM-APPLE-002). Dan Yan et al., Insights into the aroma profiles and characteristic aroma of ‘Honeycrisp’ apple (Malus × domestica), Food Chemistry, 2020.
Molecules named in these claims: (E)-2-hexenal, hexanal, hexyl 2-methylbutanoate, α-farnesene. A molecule listed here is named in a VERIFIED claim about this smell. It is not presented as the cause of the smell; each claim says what its source supports.
Cite
SmellBook. (2026). Apple (revision 4, 2026-10-14). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:apple. https://smellbook.com/smells/apple
https: