Myrtle is a plant with 60 known flavor compounds. The most distinctive molecule is nerolidol. It pairs most strongly with guava, sharing 22 flavor compounds. Myrtle appears in 111 recipes, most commonly in world 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), Myrtle's inventory contains 14. Most of the other 46 compounds are below detection threshold.
+ 2 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 Myrtle's 60 known compounds break down by aroma category. Percentages are of compounds with a known label.
42 of 60 are distinctive to myrtle — they appear in under 10% of foods. The remainder are the background most foods share.
Ordered by measured impact in myrtle — 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 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.
Myrtle 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 Myrtle side-by-side
Drawn from PubMed + Europe PMC + food-science journals. Click any title to read the full abstract on the original source.
BACKGROUND: Despite the desirable qualities of strawberries, their short shelf life and susceptibility to spoilage present significant challenges. This study examined the effect of... Read abstract →
Essential oils (EOs) are promising bio-preservatives for oilseeds; however, their high volatility and strong aroma limit practical applications. In this study, we developed a dual-... Read abstract →
BACKGROUND: Sour taste is associated with acid-base homeostasis, which is critical to cell metabolism and health conditions. Vinegar, which contains acetic acid as the main compone... Read abstract →
Bee pollen is frequently characterized as a natural source of bioactive components, such as phenolic compounds, which are responsible for its pharmaceutical potential and nutrition... Read abstract →
BACKGROUND: Salt (sodium chloride) is an essential component of daily food, crucial for many physiological processes. Due to health risks related to salt over consumption, consider... Read abstract →