Ginger

Permanent ID: smellbook:smell:ginger · updated 2026-10-06, revision 4

Character EDITORIAL

Fresh ginger smells sharp, clean and spicy, with a lemony brightness that comes forward the moment the root is cut or grated.

Words: spicy, fresh, sharp, aromatic. Families: Fresh and clean, Sharp and bitter.

Met in: Kitchen.

Evidence

Scientific evidence

Ginger contains multiple aroma-active volatiles (CLM-GINGER-001). Xueli Pang, Jianmin Cao, Dabin Wang, Jun Qiu & Fanyu Kong, Identification of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) Volatiles and Localization of Aroma-Active Constituents by GC–Olfactometry, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2017.
Most potent odorants of ginger (CLM-GINGER-002). Xueli Pang, Jianmin Cao, Dabin Wang, Jun Qiu & Fanyu Kong, Identification of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) Volatiles and Localization of Aroma-Active Constituents by GC–Olfactometry, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2017.

Molecules named in these claims: 1,8-cineole, bornyl acetate, geranial, linalool. 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). Ginger (revision 4, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:ginger. https://smellbook.com/smells/ginger

Scan for the SmellBook record: https://smellbook.com/id/smell/ginger