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Butter vs Olive: shared flavor compounds

110 of 457 flavor compounds are shared (Jaccard 0.24) — the molecular basis for whether Butter and Olive pair well or work as substitutes. Full side-by-side breakdown below.

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Two ingredients gives the full side-by-side breakdown; add a third to see a similarity matrix across all of them (up to 6).

110
Shared
198
Butter reported
369
Olive reported
0.24
Jaccard

“Reported” counts reflect the compounds characterized for each ingredient across the studies and databases we aggregate — a measure of coverage, not an exhaustive census. Different analyses target different compound classes and methods, so read these as what has been characterized, not the total number of molecules present. Jaccard measures shared coverage, so it rewards overlap rather than highlighting the ratio differences that distinguish two ingredients.

Why they pair: shared-compound network

12 of 110 shared shown

Each molecule in the middle is shared by both ingredients — the chemistry bridging Butter and Olive. Node color is chemical class and node size is perceptual potency (bigger = lower odor threshold, so it drives aroma at smaller amounts); a copper ring marks compounds flagged as key aromas in published GC-O studies. Zoom with the +/− buttons or a pinch, drag the background to pan, drag a node to pin it, click any molecule for its full profile.

Showing the 12 highest-impact of 110 shared compounds (key aromas first). Sign in for the full network, including the compounds unique to each ingredient.

Where they differ: aroma character

Profile distance 0.17

The Jaccard above measures overlap; this compares each ingredient’s aroma-family mix side by side — the wider the gap between the two bars, the more that family sets the ingredients apart. Butter reads left, Olive reads right.

24.1%
Fruity
16.6%
2.1%
Herbal
7.1%
5.9%
Dairy
2.7%
3.7%
Caramel
1.2%
13.4%
Sour
16.0%
10.7%
Other
13.0%
2.1%
Spicy
4.1%
14.4%
Green
12.7%
2.1%
Sulfurous
3.6%
1.6%
Chemical
0.6%
Butter ◀ ▶ Olive

Shares are fractions of each ingredient’s labeled compounds (187 of 198 for Butter, 337 of 369 for Olive) — compositional lean, not concentration. Aroma labels come from our compound enrichment and cover most, but not all, characterized molecules.

Pro names the molecules behind each difference — the specific compounds in each aroma family that one ingredient has and the other doesn’t. Sign in to see them.

Published recipes using both

100+ found

Real dishes from our 610K+ curated recipe corpus that combine butter and olive — proof the pairing works in practice.

99+ more recipes use both ingredients. Pro shows up to 10 published dishes per comparison — a head-start for menu development and recipe testing.

Shared compounds

110 of 457 total

These are the molecules both ingredients have in common — the chemistry behind why they pair. Grouped by chemical class; marks compounds flagged as key aromas in published GC-O studies. Click any molecule for its identifiers (CAS, formula, PubChem CID), odor data, and every ingredient it’s found in.

Most perceptually potent shared compounds

84 of 110 shared are aroma compounds with a measured threshold

Odor threshold is the concentration at which a molecule becomes smellable — lower = more potent. These clear their threshold most easily, so they drive the shared aroma out of proportion to the raw shared count.

Showing the 6 most potent of 84 with measured thresholds. Sign in for the full ranked list.

Showing the 5 highest-impact of 110 shared compounds (key aromas first) — sign in for the full list, grouped by chemical class with key-aroma markers.

See 88 butter-only and 260 olive-only compounds with Pro

Side-by-side ingredient comparison — including the unique compounds in each ingredient — is a Pro feature.

Try the pairing tools for full recipe-aware scoring, or explore butter's profile.

Cite this analysis
Plain text
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Butter vs Olive. https://compkitchen.com/compare?a=butter&b=olive. Accessed 2026-09-15.
BibTeX
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_butter_vs_olive_2026,
  title  = {Compound similarity analysis: Butter vs Olive},
  author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://compkitchen.com/compare?a=butter&b=olive},
  note   = {Accessed: 2026-09-15}
}

Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.