Saffron is a spice with 266 known flavor compounds. The most distinctive molecule is crocetin. It pairs most strongly with ghee. Saffron appears in 2,196 recipes, most commonly in indian 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), Saffron's inventory contains 45. Most of the other 221 compounds are below detection threshold.
+ 33 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 Saffron's 266 known compounds break down by aroma category. Percentages are of compounds with a known label.
41 of 266 are distinctive to saffron — they appear in under 10% of foods. The remainder are the background most foods share.
Ordered by measured impact in saffron — 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 Saffron's 266 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.
Saffron 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 Saffron side-by-side
Drawn from PubMed + Europe PMC + food-science journals. Click any title to read the full abstract on the original source.
Background/Objectives: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of visual impairment in the elderly and is characterized by a multifactorial etiology. Emerging evi... Read abstract →
BACKGROUND: Quality properties of 14 saffron samples from Iran, Spain, and Türkiye were compared. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed between anthocyanins, volatile comp... Read abstract →
BACKGROUND: Although the mechanism of action of nanoemulsion is still unclear, the modern use of nanoemulsions made from natural extracts as antimicrobial and anti-aflatoxigenic ag... Read abstract →
Numerous fungal plant pathogens can infect fresh fruits and vegetables during transit and storage conditions. The resulting infections were mainly controlled by synthetic fungicide... Read abstract →
At present, the development of new agri-food products, including flavored meat products presented in ready-to-eat vacuum packs, is encouraged. The addition of ingredients used as f... Read abstract →
