Printed from smellbook.com/smells/cherry. This printout keeps the entry for Cherry 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 bright red-fruit smell with sweet, tart and slightly almond-like cultural associations.
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 Cherry (the food or drink, not this smell entry) lists every smell recorded as coming from it.
Fresh cherries smell bright, sweet and gently tart, with a clean red-fruit character that is softer than many people expect. 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 CHERRY
Fresh cherries smell bright, sweet and gently tart, with a clean red-fruit character that is softer than many people expect. A mild, almond-like note can appear, especially in cooked cherries, and many people link the smell with cherry sweets and syrups, which are much louder and sweeter than the fruit itself. The fresh smell is light and fades quickly.
Punnets at summer markets, bowls of fresh cherries and roadside fruit stands are common settings, along with pies, clafoutis-style bakes, jams and cherry-flavoured drinks and sweets.
Typical settings: fresh cherries, market, dessert.
SmellBook links it to one place page: see it in Connections.
One VERIFIED scientific claim from one published source is recorded for this entry: Aroma compounds of sweet cherries. 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.
7 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; one molecule is not the whole smell.
Fresh Cherry is distinct from cherry-flavored products, which can emphasize different aroma cues.
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
Aroma compounds of sweet cherries
In three sweet cherry cultivars, 97 compounds were identified; hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde were the major free volatiles, and (E)-β-ionone, hexanal, decanal and (E)-2-hexenal had the highest odour activity values.
Three sweet cherry cultivars; levels, and so their contribution to aroma, varied between them.
How this was found: Odour activity estimate. Compounds were measured and compared with known odour thresholds; nobody smelled this sample to confirm it. Source: primary study; chemistry work.
Ya-Qin Wen, Fei He, Bao-Qing Zhu, Yi-Bin Lan, Qiu-Hong Pan, Chun-You Li, Malcolm J. Reeves & Jun Wang
DOI 10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.11.092Each molecule is named by the claim shown after it. Each molecule named here has only the role the claim states; one molecule is not the whole smell. 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 Cherry.
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-0154 — Cherrysmellbook:smell:cherryhttps://smellbook.com/smells/cherrySmellBook. (2026). Cherry (revision 3, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:cherry. https://smellbook.com/smells/cherry@misc{smellbook_cherry_r3,
author = {{SmellBook}},
title = {Cherry},
year = {2026},
note = {SmellBook Public Atlas, revision 3, 2026-10-06, smellbook:smell:cherry},
url = {https://smellbook.com/smells/cherry}
}TY - ENCYC ID - smellbook-cherry-r3 TI - Cherry AU - SmellBook T2 - SmellBook Public Atlas PY - 2026 DA - 2026/10/06 ET - revision 3 UR - https://smellbook.com/smells/cherry N1 - SB-0154; smellbook:smell:cherry; resolver https://smellbook.com/id/smell/cherry 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.
Fresh Cherry is distinct from cherry-flavored products, which can emphasize different aroma cues.
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 ↗