Aroma molecule
5-methylfuran
Smells ofcaramel, burnt, chemical
Found in 3 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
- —
- Mass
- 82.1 g/mol
- CAS
- 2213-23-2
- PubChem
- —
- FEMA
- 3609 · GRAS · verify
- Threshold
- —
- Class
- —
- Status
- Aroma-active
01How little it takes
- in waterpapers disagree 200
- in a foodpapers disagree 2.3
- in oilpapers disagree 27,000
ppb, log scale · tick = median of published values, bar = full range, from open-access paper tables (not reviewed)
02Where it turns up
- Meat & fish2
- Drinks1
of the 3 ingredients that contain it, by food group
03What it travels with
Too few ingredients to say what it travels with.
What does 5-methylfuran smell like?
Sources describe it as caramel, burnt, chemical.
How this molecule is described
- caramel, burnt, chemical shown above FlavorDB 2.0
- caramel, burnt Flavordb Odor Column
- chemical Flavordb Odor Column
- caramel Flavordb Odor Column
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-methylfuran?
We list 3 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-methylfuran in it. ✓n = sources that recorded the link.
How strong is 5-methylfuran?
We hold no published odour threshold for 5-methylfuran, so we cannot say how little of it you could smell.
Thresholds in published tables
| Medium | Median | Range | Values | Papers | Papers agree? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| air | 2.468e+04 µg/L air | 2.08e+03–8.27e+04 | 3 | 2 | yes |
| food matrix | 2.3 ppb | 2.3–2.3 | 1 | 1 | one paper |
| oil | 2.7e+04 ppb | 2.7e+04–2.7e+04 | 1 | 1 | one paper |
| unstated | 27 ppb | 1.4–3.5e+03 | 9 | 9 | no (2.2 decades) |
| water | 200 ppb | 3.5–3.5e+03 | 5 | 5 | no (3.0 decades) |
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.
Is 5-methylfuran safe to eat?
A substance matching this name is listed by FEMA as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a flavoring: FEMA number 3609, published in GRAS 12. Check current FDA and EFSA guidance for your market and use level.
- FEMA number
- 3609 ? partial match
- Publication
- GRAS 12
- FEMA name
- 2-ACETYL-5-METHYLFURAN
Use-level matrix not extracted for this substance; check the source publication for current ppm guidance.
Source: FEMA GRAS publications 1–33.
5-methylfuran questions
What does 5-methylfuran smell like?
Sources describe 5-methylfuran as caramel, burnt and chemical.
Which foods contain 5-methylfuran?
We list 3 ingredients that contain 5-methylfuran.
Look up another compound — search by name, CAS number, PubChem CID, or FEMA #.
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Try the pairing tools to see which ingredient combinations rely on 5-methylfuran, or compare two ingredients side by side.
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). 5-methylfuran compound data sheet. https://compkitchen.com/compound/5-methylfuran. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compound_5_methylfuran_compound_data_sheet_2026,
title = {5-methylfuran compound data sheet},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compound/5-methylfuran},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.