Character Impact Flavor Compounds for Common Flavors/Foods

For many flavors—though not all—there is a compound that serves as the characteristic component. Menthol, for example, is the characterizing compound of mint flavor.

Below is a list of flavors along with their corresponding characterizing compound(s), including descriptions of their odor or taste and their perception thresholds in specified foods or flavors. The list is cited from the book titled "The Technology of Food Flavoring" written by Dr. Baoguo Sun, a well known flavor chemist, and Haitao Chen.