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Asafoetida vs Kai Lan: shared flavor compounds

1 of 119 flavor compounds are shared (Jaccard 0.01) — the molecular basis for whether Asafoetida and Kai Lan pair well or work as substitutes. Full side-by-side breakdown below.

1
2

Two ingredients gives the full side-by-side breakdown; add a third to see a similarity matrix across all of them (up to 6).

1
Shared
36
Asafoetida reported
84
Kai Lan reported
0.01
Jaccard
Thin evidence for this pair. We hold no distinguishing chemistry for kai lan: every compound on it appears in more than 10% of ingredients, so this score is computed over the background every food shares. Distinguishing compounds held — Asafoetida: 28, Kai Lan: 0. The graph median is 12.

“Reported” counts reflect the compounds characterized for each ingredient across the studies and databases we aggregate — a measure of coverage, not an exhaustive census. Different analyses target different compound classes and methods, so read these as what has been characterized, not the total number of molecules present. Jaccard measures shared coverage, so it rewards overlap rather than highlighting the ratio differences that distinguish two ingredients.

Why they pair: shared-compound network

1 of 1 shared shown

Each molecule in the middle is shared by both ingredients — the chemistry bridging Asafoetida and Kai Lan. Node color is chemical class and node size is perceptual potency (bigger = lower odor threshold, so it drives aroma at smaller amounts); a copper ring marks compounds flagged as key aromas in published GC-O studies. Zoom with the +/− buttons or a pinch, drag the background to pan, drag a node to pin it, click any molecule for its full profile.

Where they differ: aroma character

Profile distance 0.75

The Jaccard above measures overlap; this compares each ingredient’s aroma-family mix side by side — the wider the gap between the two bars, the more that family sets the ingredients apart. Asafoetida reads left, Kai Lan reads right.

53.6%
Herbal
7.6%
0.0%
Green
22.7%
0.0%
Fruity
19.7%
17.9%
Woody
0.0%
0.0%
Sour
9.1%
7.1%
Floral
15.2%
0.0%
Roasted
4.5%
7.1%
Other
3.0%
3.6%
Savory
0.0%
0.0%
Caramel
3.0%
Asafoetida ◀ ▶ Kai Lan

Shares are fractions of each ingredient’s labeled compounds (28 of 36 for Asafoetida, 66 of 84 for Kai Lan) — compositional lean, not concentration. Aroma labels come from our compound enrichment and cover most, but not all, characterized molecules.

Pro names the molecules behind each difference — the specific compounds in each aroma family that one ingredient has and the other doesn’t. Sign in to see them.

Published recipes using both

1 found

Real dishes from our 610K+ curated recipe corpus that combine asafoetida and kai lan — proof the pairing works in practice.

Shared compounds

1 of 119 total

These are the molecules both ingredients have in common — the chemistry behind why they pair. Grouped by chemical class; ★ marks compounds flagged as key aromas in published GC-O studies. Click any molecule for its identifiers (CAS, formula, PubChem CID), odor data, and every ingredient it’s found in.

Showing the 5 highest-impact of 1 shared compounds (key aromas first) — sign in for the full list, grouped by chemical class with key-aroma markers.

See 35 asafoetida-only and 83 kai lan-only compounds with Pro

Side-by-side ingredient comparison — including the unique compounds in each ingredient — is a Pro feature.

Try the pairing tools for full recipe-aware scoring, or explore asafoetida's profile.

Cite this analysis
Plain text
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Asafoetida vs Kai Lan. https://compkitchen.com/compare?a=asafoetida&b=kai%20lan. Accessed 2026-09-29.
BibTeX
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_asafoetida_vs_kai_lan_2026,
  title  = {Compound similarity analysis: Asafoetida vs Kai Lan},
  author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://compkitchen.com/compare?a=asafoetida&b=kai%20lan},
  note   = {Accessed: 2026-09-29}
}

Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.