Aroma molecule · nitrogen compound
5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine
Smells ofroasted, nutty, earthy, potato
Found in 16 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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- Formula
- C8H11N
- Mass
- 121.18 g/mol
- CAS
- 104-90-5
- PubChem
- 7728
- FEMA
- not listed
- Threshold · water
- 19000 ppb
- Class
- nitrogen compound
- Status
- Aroma-active
01How little it takes
- in water 19,000
ppb, log scale · tick = median of published values, bar = full range
02Where it turns up
- Drinks10
- Meat & fish2
- Grains, nuts & fats2
- Herbs & spices1
- Other1
of the 16 ingredients that contain it, by food group
03What it travels with
line weight = ingredients carrying both, of 16 · only molecules found with it at least 1.5× as often as across all foods
What does 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine smell like?
Sources describe it as roasted, nutty, earthy, potato.
How this molecule is described
- earthy, nutty, potato, raw, roasted, strong FlavorDB 2.0
- nutty, strong, raw, potato, roasted, earthy FlavorDB 2.0
- roasted, nutty, earthy, potato shown above Llm Adjudicated
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 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine?
We list 16 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 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine in it. ✓n = sources that recorded the link.
- canadian whisky beverage alcoholic 102 cmpds
- kidney beans legume 103 cmpds
- japanese whisky beverage alcoholic 107 cmpds
- finnish whisky beverage alcoholic 109 cmpds
- scotch whisky beverage alcoholic 118 cmpds
- bourbon whisky beverage alcoholic 124 cmpds
- malt whisky beverage alcoholic 130 cmpds
- whisky beverage alcoholic 154 cmpds
How strong is 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine?
Orthonasal, in clean water: 19000 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19000 ppb | water_odor | Leffingwell | — |
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? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| air | 19 µg/L air | 19–19 | 2 | 1 | one paper |
| unstated | 19 ppb | 19–19 | 1 | 1 | one paper |
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.
- Volatility
- high
What is it found with?
Of the 16 ingredients that carry 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine, 16 also carry 2-methyl-1-propanol, 16 2-phenylethanol and 16 octanoic acid. These are the most frequent companions among molecules that turn up with 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine 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 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine 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.
See all 16 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.
5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine questions
What does 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine smell like?
Sources describe 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine as roasted, nutty, earthy and potato.
Which foods contain 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine?
We list 16 ingredients that contain 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine.
How strong is 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine?
The median of 1 published odour thresholds in water is 19000 ppb.
What molecules are found with 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine?
The molecules most often found in the same ingredients are 2-methyl-1-propanol, 2-phenylethanol, octanoic acid and propionaldehyde.
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Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine compound data sheet. https://compkitchen.com/compound/5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compound_5_ethyl_2_methylpyridine_compound_data_sheet_2026,
title = {5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine compound data sheet},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compound/5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.