Spirulina is an additive with 198 known flavor compounds. The most distinctive molecule is organic acids. It pairs most strongly with soy milk, sharing 90 flavor compounds. Spirulina appears in 3 recipes.
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), Spirulina's inventory contains 44. Most of the other 154 compounds are below detection threshold.
+ 32 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 Spirulina's 198 known compounds break down by aroma category. Percentages are of compounds with a known label.
9 of 198 are distinctive to spirulina — they appear in under 10% of foods. The remainder are the background most foods share.
Ordered by measured impact in spirulina — 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 1 of Spirulina's 198 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.
Spirulina 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 Spirulina side-by-side
Drawn from PubMed + Europe PMC + food-science journals. Click any title to read the full abstract on the original source.
Food packaging is crucial for extending shelf life, preserving quality, and ensuring safety. This study evaluates the preservative impact of turmeric essential oil-in-water nanoemu... Read abstract →
Microbial pigments are extensively used in industry as food coloring, dyes, and medicinal substances. This study aimed to develop a probiotic mouth freshener tablet containing PC,... Read abstract →
The commercialization of wet Spirulina is severely hindered by its rapid spoilage and the development of fishy off-flavors (e.g., trimethylamine, indole) by its endogenous microbio... Read abstract →
Exploring microalgae-based functional ingredients for food preservation and quality enhancement meets the consumers' demand for healthier staple food. This study developed nutrient... Read abstract →
Spirulina (<i>Arthrospira platensis</i>) has a high protein content. In this study, protein was extracted from Spirulina powder, after which Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were... Read abstract →
