SMELLBOOK REFERENCE · SB-0160
Popcorn
Permanent ID: smellbook: · updated 2026-10-14, revision 4
Character EDITORIAL
Popcorn smells warm and toasted, with a dry grain character, a light nuttiness and a buttery richness when butter is added.
Words: toasted, warm, grain, buttery. Families: Temperature and texture, Cooked and fermented.
Met in: Kitchen, Cinema.
Evidence
Scientific evidence
- Volatiles linked to popcorn aroma (CLM-POPCORN-001). Donkeun Park & Joseph A. Maga, Identification of key volatiles responsible for odour quality differences in popped popcorn of selected hybrids, Food Chemistry, 2006.
- Primary odorants of freshly prepared popcorn (CLM-POPCORN-002). Peter Schieberle, Primary odorants in popcorn, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 1991.
Molecules named in these claims: 2-acetylpyrrole, 2-furfurylthiol, 2-pentylfuran, 4-vinylguaiacol, guaiacol, methional, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline. 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). Popcorn (revision 4, 2026-10-14). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:popcorn. https://smellbook.com/smells/popcorn
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