Molecule · alcohol
3-methylpentanol
Found in 1 ingredient. 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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- Formula
- —
- Mass
- 102.17 g/mol
- CAS
- 589-35-5
- PubChem
- —
- FEMA
- not listed
- Threshold · other matrix
- 1000 ppb
- Class
- alcohol
- Status
- —
01How little it takes
- in a food 7.5
ppb, log scale · tick = median of published values, bar = full range, from open-access paper tables (not reviewed)
02Where it turns up
- Dairy1
of the 1 ingredient that contain it, by food group
03What it travels with
Too few ingredients to say what it travels with.
What does 3-methylpentanol smell like?
We hold no odour description for 3-methylpentanol.
Which foods contain 3-methylpentanol?
We list 1 ingredient 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-methylpentanol in it. ✓n = sources that recorded the link.
How strong is 3-methylpentanol?
Other matrix: 1000 ppb, from 1 published value.
Published thresholds
1 measured value from the literature, grouped by what was measured: a threshold smelled in clean water, tasted, or measured in a real food are different quantities and are not pooled.
| Threshold | Matrix | Source | Paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 ppb | ethanol (food: whiskey) | PMC open access | — |
Only values we can attribute are listed. Where a compendium’s licence does not permit public attribution its figures are omitted, so every number here traces to a citable source.
Thresholds in published tables
| Medium | Median | Range | Values | Papers | Papers agree? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| food matrix | 7.5 ppb | 7.5–7.5 | 2 | 2 | yes |
| unstated | 1050 ppb | 1e+03–1.5e+04 | 6 | 6 | yes |
Numbers printed in open-access papers, grouped by the medium the table states. Median and full range; “agree” means two or more papers whose middle 80% of values sit within 100×. Not reviewed.
- Retention index
- 817
Is 3-methylpentanol safe to eat?
Not in FEMA GRAS publications 1–33. Of 3,367 listed flavoring substances, none match this compound or its other names. It may still be food-safe under other regulatory routes (FDA 21 CFR 172, EFSA, JECFA); check femaflavor.org for the authoritative current list.
3-methylpentanol questions
Which foods contain 3-methylpentanol?
We list 1 ingredient that contain 3-methylpentanol.
How strong is 3-methylpentanol?
The median of 1 published odour thresholds in other matrix is 1000 ppb.
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Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). 3-methylpentanol compound data sheet. https://compkitchen.com/compound/3-methylpentanol. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compound_3_methylpentanol_compound_data_sheet_2026,
title = {3-methylpentanol compound data sheet},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compound/3-methylpentanol},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.