Printed from smellbook.com/smells/mushroom. This printout keeps the entry for Mushroom 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.
Earthy, damp, savoury and forest-floor-like character associated with fresh mushrooms.
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 Mushroom (the food or drink, not this smell entry) lists every smell recorded as coming from it.
Mushroom smells earthy, damp and savoury, with a soft, slightly nutty and forest-floor quality. EDITORIAL
Named in the VERIFIED claims about this smell: not a list of what it is made of, and not its cause.
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Other entries that link to this one
Links SmellBook records for this entry: what it comes from, where you meet it, molecules, related smells and comparisons. 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 MUSHROOM
Mushroom smells earthy, damp and savoury, with a soft, slightly nutty and forest-floor quality. Fresh mushrooms are mild and cool; cooked ones become richer, meatier and more rounded. Dried mushrooms carry a much deeper, concentrated aroma. It is close to the smell of damp soil, though more savoury and food-like.
It is met in kitchens when slicing or frying mushrooms, in markets and greengrocers, and in woodland during autumn walks. Many people link it with autumn, foraging and hearty food.
Typical settings: fresh mushroom, woodland, kitchen.
SmellBook links it to 3 place pages: see them in Connections.
One VERIFIED scientific claim from one published source is recorded for this entry: Main aroma component of cooked button mushroom. This claim says only what its source supports, in the scope shown with it.
One molecule is named in this claim; see the evidence for the role the claim gives it. The molecule this claim names has only the role the claim states; one molecule is not the whole smell.
Mushroom bridges food and forest associations while remaining a distinct source profile.
SmellBook records one written comparison with other smells: see it in Connections.
Words that are easy to mix up: What is the difference between earthy and mineral?
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
Main aroma component of cooked button mushroom
Odour activity values and omission tests identified seven key aroma compounds of button mushroom, with 1-octen-3-one the main aroma component of the cooked mushroom.
Button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) cooked several ways; other species and preparations differ.
How this was found: Odour analysis with human assessors. People smelled the separated compounds or the material itself (for example gas chromatography–olfactometry, dilution analysis, recombination or a sensory panel). Source: primary study; sensory or perception work.
Limei Xie, Shaoli Guo, Hongting Rao, Bingying Lan, Baodong Zheng & Ningning Zhang
DOI 10.3390/foods13050685Each molecule is named by the claim shown after it. This molecule 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 Mushroom.
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.
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.
How this entry is identified and named, for citing it or matching it with other records.
SmellBook SB-0038 — Mushroomsmellbook:smell:mushroomhttps://smellbook.com/smells/mushroomSmellBook. (2026). Mushroom (revision 3, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:mushroom. https://smellbook.com/smells/mushroom@misc{smellbook_mushroom_r3,
author = {{SmellBook}},
title = {Mushroom},
year = {2026},
note = {SmellBook Public Atlas, revision 3, 2026-10-06, smellbook:smell:mushroom},
url = {https://smellbook.com/smells/mushroom}
}TY - ENCYC ID - smellbook-mushroom-r3 TI - Mushroom AU - SmellBook T2 - SmellBook Public Atlas PY - 2026 DA - 2026/10/06 ET - revision 3 UR - https://smellbook.com/smells/mushroom N1 - SB-0038; smellbook:smell:mushroom; resolver https://smellbook.com/id/smell/mushroom 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.
Mushroom bridges food and forest associations while remaining a distinct source profile.
Other entries whose editors linked to Mushroom:
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 ↗