Capsicum is a vegetable fruit with 404 known flavor compounds. The most distinctive molecule is 2-methoxy-3-(2-methylpropyl)-pyrazine. It pairs most strongly with onion, sharing 243 flavor compounds. Capsicum appears in 50,415 recipes, most commonly in creole cuisine.
Compounds ranked by rarity — the higher the score, the more distinctive to this ingredient.
Of the ~226 molecules that drive perceived food aroma (Dunkel et al. 2014), Capsicum's inventory contains 73. Most of the other 331 compounds are below detection threshold.
+ 61 more — showing top 12 by class and threshold.
Generalist = appears in >25% of foods (Maillard / fermentation products). Individualist = appears in <5% of foods (carries signature notes). Threshold values are in clean water — the actual perception threshold in a food matrix can differ substantially.
How Capsicum's 404 known compounds break down by aroma category. Percentages are of compounds with a known label.
137 of 404 are distinctive to capsicum — they appear in under 10% of foods. The remainder are the background most foods share.
Ordered by measured impact in capsicum — concentration against odour threshold where both are published, then by how distinctive the molecule is across the graph. Molecules measured here but not established as odorants sit below those that are.
Ranked by median concentration across published studies. Only 2 of Capsicum's 404 compounds have a measured concentration in the literature — the rest are confirmed present but not yet quantified. Bars are log-scaled.
Ranked by how often cooks actually use them together, across 453,403 recipes — the familiar answer first. Each pairing still carries its molecular score and shared-compound count; only the ORDER differs. Counts cover every characterised molecule the two ingredients have in common, not only the aroma-active ones, so they can exceed an ingredient’s aroma-compound count. For the chemistry-first view — where the surprising pairings live — see the molecular network below, the side-by-side comparison, or the Pairing Tool.
Capsicum and its 10 closest compound-sharing relatives. Spoke thickness = shared compounds; circle size = that ingredient's own compound count. Drag to rearrange, scroll to zoom, click to open.
Compare Capsicum side-by-side
Drawn from PubMed + Europe PMC + food-science journals. Click any title to read the full abstract on the original source.
This study investigated the effects of various drying methods on the chemical components of Chaotianjiao and Xianjiao, focusing on both non-volatile constituents and volatiles. The... Read abstract →
Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is a widely cultivated vegetable crop globally. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different cooking methods on the flavor (taste and aroma)... Read abstract →
Chilli holds significance as a vital agricultural vegetable crop for its economic contributions and medicinal properties inherent in its fruit. Chilli (Capsicum annuum) is widely c... Read abstract →
Odor-induced saltiness enhancement (OISE) is thought to be a unique salt reduction technique which capitalizes on olfactory-gustatory interaction. Volatile compounds of stewed duck... Read abstract →
Red pepper (<i>Capsicum annuum</i> var. conoides) is commonly used for dried pepper production in China, and the drying process, particularly the during duration, profoundly affect... Read abstract →
