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Litchi

Litchi is a fruit with 142 known flavor compounds. The most distinctive molecule is nerolidol. It pairs most strongly with rambutan, sharing 86 flavor compounds. Litchi appears in 50 recipes.

Scientific name: Litchi chinensis
species of plant
Wikidata Q13182 (CC0)
Litchi — ingredient reference image
142
Flavor Compounds
8
Top Pairings of 856 scored

Flavor Science

Flavor Profile Breakdown

142 compounds

How Litchi's 142 known compounds break down by aroma category. Percentages are of compounds with a known label.

fruity 24 · 16.9%
floral 22 · 15.5%
green 21 · 14.8%
herbal 13 · 9.2%
sour 7 · 4.9%
woody 5 · 3.5%
sulfurous 5 · 3.5%
caramel 3 · 2.1%
citrus 3 · 2.1%
roasted 3 · 2.1%

Flavor Compounds

32 of 142 are distinctive to litchi — they appear in under 10% of foods. The remainder are the background most foods share.

Ordered by measured impact in litchi — 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.

Molecules volatile enough to reach the nose.
lilac aldehyde b trans-linalool oxide 2,6-nonadienal cis-thujopsene cinnamyl acetate 2,4-undecadienal trans-beta-ionone cis-rose oxide beta-damascenone beta-citronellol cedrol furaneol caryophyllene p-cymene propyl acetate ethyl butyrate citronellol alpha-phellandrene ethyl caproate nerol terpinen-4-ol dimethyl sulfide isoamyl acetate isobutyl acetate dimethyl trisulfide nerolidol ethyl isovalerate alpha-pinene myrcene terpinolene +75 more isoliquiritigenin thiamine hydrochloride taxifolin daidzein luteolin phloretin naringenin apigenin kaempferol phlorizin 2,4-dithiapentane beta-famesene neral (cis-citral) lilac aldehyde d 6-nonenal trans,cis-2,6-nonadien-1-ol monomenthyl glutarate (2-methoxyethyl)benzene (ethoxymethyl)benzene (z)-hex-3-en-1-ol 2-phenylethyl formate calcium lactate daidzin d-lactic acid alpha-l-sorbopyranose alpha-maltose d-mannitol dl-liquiritigenin hydrogen cyanide hydrogen peroxide indole-3-acetic acid linamarin tributyrin (+)-delta-cadinene 4-hexen-3-one betaine thiamine

Best Pairings for Litchi

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.

Molecular Neighborhood

Litchi 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.

Molecular neighborhood diagram of litchi — top 10 ingredients ranked by shared volatile compounds
1
Rambutan fruit
86 shared compounds
40%
2
Dragon Fruit fruit
11 shared compounds
42%
3
Vodka beverage alcoholic
32%
4
Passion Fruit fruit
18 shared compounds
49%
5
Kiwifruit fruit
105 shared compounds
56%
6
Syrup additive
5 shared compounds
38%
7
Guava fruit
115 shared compounds
42%
8
Melon fruit
106 shared compounds
49%

Compare Litchi side-by-side

Litchi vs Rambutan Litchi vs Dragon Fruit Litchi vs Vodka Litchi vs Passion Fruit Litchi vs Kiwifruit Litchi vs Syrup

Recipes with Litchi

View all →
Japanese Fruit Skewers with Plum Sauce

Japanese Fruit Skewers with Plum Sauce

banana watermelon litchi +4
7 ingr. · 6 steps View →
Spring White Sangria

Spring White Sangria

wine passion fruit juice lime +7
10 ingr. View →
Research basis

Litchi is supported by 355 peer-reviewed papers

Drawn from PubMed + Europe PMC + food-science journals. Click any title to read the full abstract on the original source.
Show all 355 papers →