3-methyl butyraldehyde

green aldehyde

Found in 3 ingredients across the CompKitchen flavor graph.

Look up another compound — search by name, CAS number, PubChem CID, or FEMA #.

Properties

Odor threshold — orthonasal, in clean water: 0.375 ppb – 2.8 ppb median 1.1 ppb · 3 published values · see all 27 with sources
CAS number: 590-86-3

Not in FEMA GRAS publications 1-33. Of 3,367 listed flavoring substances, none match this compound name. May still be food-safe under other regulatory routes (FDA 21 CFR 172, EFSA, JECFA) — check femaflavor.org for the authoritative current list.

Published thresholds

27 measured values from the literature. Grouped by what was actually measured — a threshold smelled in clean water, tasted in the mouth, or measured in a real food are three different quantities and are not pooled.

Orthonasal, in clean water

0.375 ppb – 2.8 ppb

The reference measurement — smelled in water. OAV is computed against this.

Threshold	Matrix	Source	Paper
0.375 ppb SIDA	water	Rychlik 1998 · 4 studies	—
1.1 ppb	water_odor	Leffingwell	—
2.8 ppb	water/ethanol 6:4 (food: american bourbon whisky)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2

In a food matrix

0.200 ppb – 34.1 ppb

Measured in a real food, where the matrix shifts detection — not a clean-water value.

Threshold	Matrix	Source	Paper
0.200 ppb	water (food: wheat porridge / bread crumb)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
0.200 ppb	water (food: extruded wheat flour)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
0.500 ppb	water (food: green tea infusion (jingshan cha))	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
0.500 ppb	water (food: reference standard (water))	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
0.500 ppb	water (food: longjing green tea infusion)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
0.545 ppb	water (food: coffee)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
1.2 ppb	water (food: japanese soy sauce)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
3.4 ppb	water (food: onion)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
34.1 ppb	water (food: fish)	Literature corpus	36950329
58.0 ppb	water (food: lamb)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
Flagged: 106× from the median of this group. Excluded from the range above pending re-check against the source publication — shown rather than hidden.
156 ppb	water (food: unknown)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +1
Flagged: 286× from the median of this group. Excluded from the range above pending re-check against the source publication — shown rather than hidden.

Retronasal / in-mouth

0.145 ppb – 170 ppb

Tasted rather than smelled — a different sense, not comparable.

Threshold	Matrix	Source	Paper
0.145 ppb SIDA	water_retronasal	Rychlik 1998 · 2 studies	—
10.8 ppb SIDA	oil_retronasal	Rychlik 1998 · 1 studies	—
170 ppb	water_flavor	Leffingwell	—

In air

0.100 ppb

Airborne detection — not comparable to a water threshold.

Threshold	Matrix	Source	Paper
0.100 ppb	air	Nagata 2003	—

Other matrix

2.8 ppb – 32.0 ppb

Measured in a non-aqueous medium (oil, starch, cellulose).

Threshold	Matrix	Source	Paper
2.8 ppb	ethanol/water (food: rum)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
2.8 ppb	ethanol/water 40/60 (food: rum (aged))	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
2.8 ppb	ethanol/water 40/60 (food: rum (young))	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
5.4 ppb	oil (sunflower oil) (food: gouda cheese)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
9.2 ppb SIDA	oil_orthonasal	Rychlik 1998 · 2 studies	—
13.0 ppb	oil (sunflower oil) (food: cocoa beans)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
13.0 ppb	oil (sunflower oil) (food: cocoa powder)	Literature corpus	33488534, 35369098, 35396186 +2
29.0 ppb SIDA	cellulose	Rychlik 1998 · 1 studies	—
32.0 ppb SIDA	starch	Rychlik 1998 · 1 studies	—

Only values we can attribute are listed. Where a compendium's licence does not permit public attribution its figures are omitted here, so every number on this page traces to a citable source.

Found in

Measured impact first, then profile share

Every ingredient known to contain 3-methyl butyraldehyde. Ingredients with a measured concentration come first, ranked by odour activity; the rest follow by how large a share of that ingredient's profile this molecule is. The figure beside each is how many different compounds that ingredient has in total — not the concentration of 3-methyl butyraldehyde in it.

47 cmpds

72 cmpds

Into the chemistry?

Get a molecule-level pairing breakdown each week — which ingredients share a compound, and why it matters at the table. Free, no spam.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Try the pairing tools to see which ingredient combinations rely on 3-methyl butyraldehyde, or compare two ingredients side-by-side.