Printed from smellbook.com/smells/banana. This printout keeps the entry for Banana itself: its description, reference card, Connections, questions, evidence, related smells, record details, states, names and citation. It leaves out your own notes, the map, the lists of paths, routes, stories and fragrance directions, and the lists headed “Also linked to” (other entries that share its place or material) and “Linked from”; they are on the page online. The entries this one links to are still printed under Connections and Related smells.
Categories and types group entries for browsing; they are editorial, not evidence. How smells are grouped.
A soft, sweet, creamy-fruity smell associated with ripe banana flesh and peel.
Its type, Source, means the smell is named after “a physical origin that can contribute a smell”; it is not an evidence source, such as a study or a book. The origin page for Banana (the food or drink, not this smell entry) lists every smell recorded as coming from it.
Soft, sweet and creamy, this fruit smell is rounded rather than sharp, with a gentle sugary warmth. EDITORIAL
Named in the VERIFIED claims about this smell: not a list of what it is made of, and not its cause.
Links SmellBook records for this entry: what it comes from, where you meet it, molecules and related smells. EDITORIAL links are chosen by SmellBook editors and VERIFIED links come from VERIFIED claims. Nothing here is a ranking, and a molecule is not presented as the cause of the smell.
QUESTIONS ABOUT BANANA
Soft, sweet and creamy, this fruit smell is rounded rather than sharp, with a gentle sugary warmth. A firmer, greener fruit smells lighter and slightly starchy, while a fully ripe one turns heavier and almost syrupy. The peel adds a faint green note. Many people find it close to banana sweets, although the fresh fruit is milder and less candied.
It turns up at breakfast, in a fruit bowl where ripening bunches fill the air, and in kitchens where smoothies or banana bread are being made. A brown-spotted bunch left on the counter makes it hard to miss.
Typical settings: ripe fruit, breakfast, smoothie.
SmellBook links it to one place page: see it in Connections.
One VERIFIED scientific claim from one published source is recorded for this entry: Predominant banana volatiles during ripening. This claim says only what its source supports, in the scope shown with it.
The scientific study behind this evidence is chemistry or emission work, not a study of how the smell is perceived.
4 molecules are named in this claim; see the evidence for the role the claim gives them. Each molecule this claim names has only the role the claim states.
Ripeness strongly changes banana smell, so this page represents the familiar ripe-fruit experience.
Words that are easy to mix up: Why is creamy not just sweet?
No historical source or heritage record is linked to this entry yet.
Answers marked EDITORIAL are written by SmellBook editors to describe the experience and add no scientific fact. Answers marked VERIFIED point to claims on published sources, checked against each source's own summary where one was available (each claim's page says how); what each claim supports is in its own text and scope.
Scientific evidence · 1 claim
Predominant banana volatiles during ripening
In two banana cultivars, isoamyl acetate, hexanal, trans-2-hexenal and 1-hexanol were among the predominant volatile compounds, and their levels changed as the fruit ripened.
Two cultivars; it reports abundance without olfactometry, so odour potency is not established.
How this was found: Chemical composition. Compounds were identified or measured, without any assessment of their odour. Source: primary study; chemistry work.
Xiaoyang Zhu, Qiumian Li, Jun Li, Jun Luo, Weixin Chen & Xueping Li
DOI 10.3390/molecules23102456Each molecule is named by the claim shown after it. Each molecule named here has only the role the claim states. About molecules in SmellBook
Links chosen by SmellBook editors, not a ranking.
Associations can vary strongly by person, place and culture.
PATHS FROM HERE
Each step is a relationship SmellBook editors recorded in the knowledge graph, named as it is published there. Paths are not ranked or personalised, and they do not mean the smells smell alike.
Each step is a molecule that a VERIFIED claim names for both smells, in whatever role the claims state. Sharing a molecule does not mean two smells smell alike.
MY SMELLBOOK · LOCAL ONLY
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MAP THIS SMELL
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WHERE THIS SMELL APPEARS
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FOR RESEARCHERS AND EDITORS
Identity, revision history, corrections and how to cite Banana.
CULTURAL: This entry's associations depend on context, language, memory or culture; its description and smell words are editorial. It says nothing about research or historical evidence; evidence for this entry is shown separately: VERIFIED.
How this entry is identified and named, for citing it or matching it with other records.
SmellBook SB-0052 — Bananasmellbook:smell:bananahttps://smellbook.com/smells/bananaSmellBook. (2026). Banana (revision 3, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:banana. https://smellbook.com/smells/banana@misc{smellbook_banana_r3,
author = {{SmellBook}},
title = {Banana},
year = {2026},
note = {SmellBook Public Atlas, revision 3, 2026-10-06, smellbook:smell:banana},
url = {https://smellbook.com/smells/banana}
}TY - ENCYC ID - smellbook-banana-r3 TI - Banana AU - SmellBook T2 - SmellBook Public Atlas PY - 2026 DA - 2026/10/06 ET - revision 3 UR - https://smellbook.com/smells/banana N1 - SB-0052; smellbook:smell:banana; resolver https://smellbook.com/id/smell/banana ER -
The citation names revision 3 of 2026-10-06, so a reader can tell exactly which version was cited. Citing records what was read; it does not grant a licence.
Ripeness strongly changes banana smell, so this page represents the familiar ripe-fruit experience.
Editorial description expanded to answer what it smells like and where you meet it; independently reviewed.
Created 2026-09-22 · Updated 2026-10-06Dataset history In the SmellBook dataset since the first of three dataset releases of 2026-09-30.
No correction notices published for this entry. Corrections policyEVIDENCE MATTERS
SmellBook separates cultural association, community perception, verified evidence, prediction and experimental relationships rather than presenting them as the same thing. Read the evidence guide ↗ See the evidence coverage report ↗