9 compounds of this family in the library, boiling between 121 and 263 °C. How the family spreads along the axis says something about its shared behaviour. Left of the dashed line are compounds lighter than any essential-oil component — they are gone before the main axis begins.
Structure
The product of a reaction between an alcohol and an acid. The molecule contains a carbonyl group linked to an oxygen atom that bonds into the carbon skeleton.
Behaviour on a smelling strip
Usually soft, sweet and round. This is the family responsible for the pleasant part of many essential oils, and also the one that builds the smell of almost every ripe fruit.
Compounds in this family
Ordered by rising boiling point — which is also the order in which you smell them.
| Compound | CAS | Boiling point | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethyl butanoate | 105-54-4 | 121 °C | Pineapple, banana, fruit sweets. The molecule of fruit that is just ripe, and of fruit that is overripe. |
| Isoamyl acetate | 123-92-2 | 142 °C | Ripe banana, sweet, with a candy note. Arrives very fast and spreads far. |
| Ethyl hexanoate | 123-66-0 | 168 °C | Pineapple, ripe apple, slightly winey. Round sweetness with no edge. |
| Benzyl acetate | 140-11-4 | 213 °C | Jasmine, sweet, slightly waxy. Clean and pleasant — which is exactly why real jasmine needs indole so as not to be bland. |
| Linalyl acetate | 115-95-7 | 220 °C | Sweet like pear, soft, rounding off the floral part. This is the compound that makes lavender sound gentle rather than harsh. |
| Methyl salicylate | 119-36-8 | 222 °C | Medicated balm, sweetly medicinal, warm. The familiar smell of rubbing liniments and the family medicine cabinet. |
| Lavandulyl acetate | 25905-14-0 | 230 °C | Herbal, dry sweetness, very particular. Its presence is a sign of genuine lavender; blended products often leave it out because it is expensive and few people notice. |
| Methyl anthranilate | 134-19-0 | 256 °C | Orange blossom with grape, sweet and slightly powdery. This is the faint floral note at the end of the breath of ripe kumquat. |
| Methyl cinnamate | 103-26-4 | 263 °C | Sweet cinnamon, strawberry, slightly resinous. Softer than cinnamaldehyde and less hot. |
Two ways of ordering, two questions
Boiling point answers the question when do you smell this compound. It is the axis this site uses by default, because it maps directly onto what happens on a smelling strip.
Chemical family answers the question how does this compound behave: stable or fragile, soft or sharp, and how you recognise it on an analysis. Trade literature usually presents compound tables along this axis.
Neither axis is more correct than the other. Knowing both means you can read both kinds of document. Read about the boiling-point axis