Aroma molecule · ketone
3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one
Smells ofcreamy, fruity, sweet
Found in 14 ingredients. We hold no measured concentration for it in any of them yet, so we cannot say where it is strong enough to smell.
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01How little it takes
No published odour threshold on file for 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one.
02Where it turns up
- Drinks12
- Other2
of the 14 ingredients that contain it, by food group
03What it travels with
line weight = ingredients carrying both, of 14 · only molecules found with it at least 1.5× as often as across all foods
What does 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one smell like?
Sources describe it as creamy, fruity, sweet.
How this molecule is described
Also filed as: 3-hydroxy-4-phenyl-2-butanone — same molecule, unified here.
- creamy, fruity, sweet shown above Llm Adjudicated, FlavorDB 2.0 2 sources agree
- caramel, honey FlavorDB 2.0
Ordered by how many independent descriptor streams give each wording, then by how often it appears. The bar is replication (one source copied onto many ingredients scores high), not corroboration.
Which foods contain 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one?
We list 14 ingredients that contain it, but presence is not the same as smell. What matters is how much is there compared with how little it takes to notice it. That ratio is the odour activity value (OAV): above 1, you can smell it.
Found in
Measured foods first, then real food profiles, then thin or composite records (marked). The figure beside each is how many compounds that ingredient has in total, not the amount of 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one in it. ✓n = sources that recorded the link.
- champagne beverage alcoholic 126 cmpds
- plum wine beverage alcoholic 131 cmpds
- rose wine beverage alcoholic 132 cmpds
- botrytized wine beverage alcoholic 134 cmpds
- strawberry wine beverage alcoholic 134 cmpds
- bilberry wine beverage alcoholic 139 cmpds
- sparkling wine beverage alcoholic 167 cmpds
- port wine beverage alcoholic 169 cmpds
How strong is 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one?
We hold no published odour threshold for 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one, so we cannot say how little of it you could smell.
- Volatility
- medium
- Retention index
- 1351
What is it found with?
Of the 14 ingredients that carry 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one, 14 also carry 1-octen-3-ol, 14 2,3-butanedione and 14 2-heptanone. These are the most frequent companions among molecules that turn up with 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one at least 1.5 times as often as they do across all foods; the very common molecules found nearly everywhere are left out because they say nothing about it.
Is 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one safe to eat?
3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one is listed by FEMA as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a flavoring: FEMA number 4052, published in GRAS 21. Check current FDA and EFSA guidance for your market and use level.
- FEMA number
- 4052 ✓ exact match
- Publication
- GRAS 21
- FEMA name
- 3-HYDROXY-4-PHENYLBUTAN-2-ONE
Use-level matrix not extracted for this substance; check the source publication for current ppm guidance.
Source: FEMA GRAS publications 1–33.
See all 14 ingredients with Pro
The free page shows the first 8. The inverted compound index is a Pro feature: reverse-search any of 5,139 flavor molecules across the full graph.
3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one questions
What does 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one smell like?
Sources describe 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one as creamy, fruity and sweet.
Which foods contain 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one?
We list 14 ingredients that contain 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one.
What molecules are found with 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one?
The molecules most often found in the same ingredients are 1-octen-3-ol, 2,3-butanedione, 2-heptanone and 2-nonanone.
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Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one compound data sheet. https://compkitchen.com/compound/3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compound_3_hydroxy_4_phenylbutan_2_one_compound_data_sheet_2026,
title = {3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one compound data sheet},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compound/3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.