Brown butter flavor · compound library & formulation

Editor

15 Feb 2026 • 8 min read

The flavor compounds listed here are suggested by Judith Michalski, a well known flavorist in the book "Successful Flavors" for making a brown butter flavor. For each compound, additional information is provided here including flavor descriptors and suggested usage levels for making this flavor. The flavor notes for a brown butter flavor includes five major and 17 minor notes.

Brown butter · compound library & formulation

🧈 Brown butter flavor · compound set

alphabetical index with FEMA, sensory, and typical levels (ppm in finished product)

Compound	FEMA	Flavor descriptors (brown butter context)	Suggested usage (ppm)
1-octen-3-ol	2805	Mushroom, earthy, fungal, raw, oily, cooked vegetable	0.2–1
2,3-hexanedione	2558	Buttery, sweet, caramel, toasted, creamy, slightly sharp	1–4
2,3-pentanedione	2841	Strong buttery, creamy, sweet, nutty, toasted, caramelic	1–5
2,4-decadienal	3135	Deep fried, fatty, chicken fat, waxy, oily, oxidized citrus	0.02–0.2 (ppb range)
2-acetyl furan	3163	Sweet, nutty, bready, roasted, coffee, slightly smoky	1–5
2-acetyl pyrazine	3126	Popcorn, nutty, roasted, toasted bread, corn chip	0.5–3
2-acetyl thiazole	3328	Popcorn, nutty, roasted, cereal, meaty, sulfury	0.3–2
2-acetyl-3,5(&6)dimethylpyrazine	3329 / 4100	Nutty, roasted, earthy, cocoa, baked potato, coffee	0.2–2
2-heptanone	2544	Cheesy, fruity, ketonic, waxy, blue cheese nuance	1–8
2-nonanol	3315	Waxy, clean, fatty, green melon, creamy, faint citrus	0.3–2.5
2-tridecanone	3388	Waxy, dairy, coconut, fatty, cheesy, earthy, hay	1–6
2-undecanone	3093	Waxy, fruity, creamy, fatty, green rindy, floral	0.5–4
3,4-xylenol	— (alt. 3495)	Phenolic, medicinal, smoky, woody, tarry	0.01–0.1
3-methyl pentanoic acid	3437	Sweaty, cheesy, sour, fermented, animal, fruity nuance	1–6
4-ethyl phenol	3156	Phenolic, smoky, medicinal, leather, barnyard, spicy	0.05–0.5
5,6-decenoic acid	3742	Waxy, creamy, peach-like, dairy, milky, soapy	1–5
5,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinoxaline	— (similar 3321)	Nutty, roasted, popcorn, earthy, pyrazine-like	0.2–1.5
acetoin	2008	Creamy, buttery, fatty, milky, yogurt, slight sour	15–50
butyl undeconeate (undecylenate)	— (undecylenate 4622)	Waxy, fatty, fruity, slightly metallic	0.5–3
butyric acid	2221	Rancid, cheesy, butter, creamy at low dose, fermented	8–25
cis-4-heptenal	3289	Creamy, milky, fatty, oily, vegetative, fresh dairy	0.005–0.1 (ppb–low ppb)
cyclotene (methyl cyclopentenolone)	2700	Caramel, maple, sweet, burnt sugar, brown, seasoning	5–20
decanoic acid	2364	Fatty, soapy, waxy, cheesy, goat-like, rancid	2–12
diacetyl	2370	Intense buttery, creamy, artificial butter, pungent	3–8
dimethyl sulfide	2746	Sweet corn, creamy, milky, sulfurous, tomato, fresh	0.1–0.5
δ-decalactone	2361	Creamy, coconut, peach, fatty, rich milky	5–20
δ-dodecalactone	2401	Strong creamy, coconut, buttery, waxy, dairy	5–18
δ-nonalactone	3356	Coconut, creamy, milky, waxy, coumarinic	3–15
δ-tetradecalactone	3590	Fatty, waxy, creamy, rich mouthfeel, peach skin	3–15
furanol (furaneol)	3174	Sweet, caramel, cotton candy, burnt sugar, fruity, strawberry	5–25
furfural	2489	Sweet, almond, baked bread, burnt, caramelic, nutty	2–12
heptanoic acid	3348	Rancid, fatty, cheesy, sweaty, waxy, sour	1–7
hexanoic acid	2559	Sweaty, cheesy, fatty, goat, pungent, waxy	2–12
indole	2593	Animal, fecal (trace), floral in dilution, complexing	0.01–0.05 (trace)
isopentanoic acid (3-methylbutanoic)	3102	Sweaty, cheesy, rancid, fermented, dirty dairy	1–8
lauric acid	2614	Waxy, fatty, mild soapy, creamy, bay oil	2–12
maltol	2656	Sweet, caramel, cotton candy, fruity, creamy enhancer	8–35
methyldihydrocyclopentapyrazine	— (related 3309)	Nutty, roasted, coffee, cocoa, earthy, popcorn	0.2–2
myristic acid	2764	Waxy, faintly oily, soapy, fatty background	2–12
nonanal	2782	Waxy, fatty, citrus, green, fresh, oily, floral	0.2–2
nonanoic acid	2784	Fatty, waxy, cheesy, nutty, green animal	1–8
octanoic acid	2799	Fatty, waxy, rancid, cheesy, sweaty, fruity	1–10
oleic acid	2815	Fatty, oily, lard-like, smooth	2–15
p-cresol	2337	Phenolic, medicinal, animal, woody, tar-like	0.02–0.1
palmitic acid	2832	Nearly odorless, waxy, adds body and fatty perception	2–15
skatole	3019	Fecal, animal, floral at extreme dilution, complexing	0.005–0.02 (ppb)
stearic acid	3035	Odorless, waxy, adds fatty mouthfeel	2–15
sulfurol (2-furanmethanethiol)	3163 (furanthiol)	Roasted coffee, meaty, sulfurous, burnt, popcorn	0.01–0.1
vanillin	3107	Sweet, creamy, vanilla, heliotrope, smooth	8–40
γ-butyrolactone	3291	Creamy, fatty, caramelic, slightly fruity, coconut	5–20

🔥 Formulation: brown butter – 5 dominant + 17 minor notes

brown buttery caramel creamy nutty · plus animal, butterscotch, cooked milk, corny, cowy, fatty, milky, oxidized, phenolic, popcorn, rancid, soapy, sweaty, sweet, toffee, waxy.

🥨 brown · caramel · toffee · butterscotch

Furaneol 10–20 ppm, cyclotene 6–15 ppm, maltol 15–25 ppm, 2,3-hexanedione 2–4 ppm, 2,3-pentanedione 2–5 ppm, furfural 3–10 ppm. These build the core brown/caramelized/toffee character. Vanillin 10–25 ppm adds sweet smoothness.

🧈 buttery · creamy · milky · cooked milk

Diacetyl 3–6 ppm, acetoin 20–40 ppm, butyric acid 12–20 ppm, δ-lactones (C10, C12, C14) 5–18 ppm each, γ-butyrolactone 5–15 ppm, cis-4-heptenal 0.01–0.05 ppm for creamy/fresh milk lift. DMS 0.15–0.4 ppm for cooked milk/corny.

🥜 nutty · popcorn · roasted

2-acetyl pyrazine 1–3 ppm, 2-acetyl thiazole 0.5–2 ppm, 2-acetyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine 0.5–2 ppm, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinoxaline 0.5–1.5 ppm, methyldihydrocyclopentapyrazine 0.3–1.5 ppm, sulfurol 0.02–0.08 ppm (roasted/nutty/popcorn).

🐄 animal · cowy · phenolic · sweaty · rancid

Skatole 0.005–0.02, indole 0.01–0.04, p-cresol 0.02–0.08, 4-ethyl phenol 0.05–0.2, 3,4-xylenol 0.02–0.08. Fatty acids: isopentanoic, 3-methyl pentanoic, hexanoic, octanoic, heptanoic, decanoic 2–10 ppm each – provide sweaty/rancid/cowy depth.

🕯️ fatty · waxy · soapy · corny · oxidized

Oleic, myristic, palmitic, stearic, lauric, nonanoic acids 2–12 ppm. 2,4-decadienal 0.02–0.1 (oxidized), nonanal 0.2–1 (waxy), 2-nonanol 0.5–2, 2-undecanone 0.5–3, 2-tridecanone 1–4. DMS 0.2–0.5 gives corny. Butyl undeconeate adds waxy ester lift.

🍿 popcorn · butterscotch · sweet · milky

Already covered by pyrazines, thiazole, furaneol, maltol, vanillin. Ensure 2-acetyl pyrazine + 2-acetyl thiazole at 1–3 ppm for popcorn. Butterscotch = cyclotene + diacetyl + vanillin. Sweet = vanillin/maltol. Milky = lactones + cis-4-heptenal.

⚙️ blending guide – constructing brown butter

Brown/caramel backbone: furaneol, cyclotene, maltol, furfural, 2,3-hexanedione, 2,3-pentanedione, vanillin. (total ca. 40–80 ppm).
Buttery/creamy heart: diacetyl, acetoin, butyric acid, δ-lactones, γ-butyrolactone. (approx. 50–90 ppm combined).
Nutty/popcorn layer: 2-acetyl pyrazine, 2-acetyl thiazole, alkylpyrazines, sulfurol. (2–8 ppm).
Fatty/waxy base: blend of C8–C18 acids (decanoic, lauric, myristic, oleic, palmitic, stearic) 15–30 ppm total, plus 2-nonanol, 2-undecanone, 2-tridecanone for waxy nuances.
Complexing trace notes: skatole, indole, p-cresol, 4-ethyl phenol, 3,4-xylenol at threshold ppb–0.1 ppm for animal/phenolic/“cowy”. Do not overdose.
Oxidized/cooked/corn: DMS 0.2–0.4 ppm, 2,4-decadienal 0.05–0.1 ppm, cis-4-heptenal 0.01–0.03 ppm.
Final adjust: balance rancid/sweaty via isopentanoic, 3-methyl pentanoic, hexanoic, heptanoic acids (2–6 ppm each). Soapy edge from lauric/decanoic – reduce if too prominent.

✔ Always test in application (fat content, heat) because brown butter perception changes with matrix. The 17 minor notes emerge from the blend above – e.g. corny = DMS + pyrazines, butterscotch = cyclotene + diacetyl + vanillin, cooked milk = lactones + DMS + cis-4-heptenal, etc.

📋 FEMA numbers verified where possible; some compounds (methyldihydrocyclopentapyrazine) have similar identifiers. Butyl undeconeate = undecylenate. Use levels as starting points – iterative sensory tuning essential.

Formulation Strategy for Brown Butter

The document provides a structured approach to building the complex brown butter profile. The five dominant notes are constructed using specific chemical families, while the 17 minor notes emerge from the careful balance of these same ingredients.

Brown, Caramel, Toffee Backbone: Built with furaneol, cyclotene, maltol, furfural, and the diones (2,3-hexanedione, 2,3-pentanedione). Vanillin adds smooth sweetness.
Buttery and Creamy Heart: Driven by diacetyl, acetoin, butyric acid, and a blend of δ-lactones (C10, C12, C14) and γ-butyrolactone.
Nutty and Popcorn Layer: Created by acetyl pyrazines, acetyl thiazole, and other alkylpyrazines, with sulfurol adding a roasted note.
Fatty, Waxy Foundation: A blend of fatty acids (C8–C18) and methyl ketones (2-nonanol, 2-undecanone, 2-tridecanone) provides body.
Complexing Trace Notes: Minute amounts of skatole, indole, p-cresol, and alkyl phenols add animalic, phenolic, and "cowy" depth.
Oxidized and Cooked Accents: Provided by dimethyl sulfide (DMS), 2,4-decadienal, and cis-4-heptenal at very low levels.

How is browned butter commercially manufactured?

The industrial manufacturing of browned butter is a sophisticated, continuous process designed to produce a consistent product with the characteristic nutty flavor and brown color, avoiding the pitfalls of the stovetop method . This patented technology, developed by companies like Land O'Lakes, transforms regular butter on a large scale through precise, controlled steps .

Here is a step-by-step breakdown of the industrial process:

Step	Environment	Key Action	Purpose & Conditions
1. Preparation	Heating Vessel	Melt the starting composition (e.g., butter).	Liquefy standard butter (approx. 80% fat, 16% water) for processing .
2. Concentration	Evaporator Device (under vacuum)	Remove water under vacuum.	Reduce moisture content to a precise level (<3% variation) without burning solids .
3. Browning	Reaction Vessel	Apply heat to trigger the Maillard reaction.	Controlled heating causes proteins and sugars to react, forming brown color & nutty flavor .
4. Finishing	Cooling & Packaging Vessels	Cool and prepare the final product.	Cool rapidly to stop the reaction, stabilize texture, and package for distribution .

🧑🔬 A Unique Structure

This manufacturing method results in a brown butter product with a physical structure different from what you'd get at home. The patented process creates a unique crystal network where:

Reacted Solids: The browned milk protein and sugar particles (from the Maillard reaction) act as a core.
Fat Crystals: Microscopic ("nascent") fat crystals form around these particles. Larger fat crystals then connect to these, creating a stable web that suspends the flavorful solids throughout the product .

This industrial process stands in contrast to the home cook's method of simply melting butter in a pan and carefully watching for the moment the milk solids brown .

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