Compounds · Esters · Microbial origin
Ethyl hexanoate
Also known as Ethyl caproate — an analysis may use any of these names
Pineapple, ripe apple, slightly winey. Round sweetness with no edge.
- CAS
- 123-66-0
- Formula
- C8H16O2
- Molar mass
- 144.21
- Odour threshold
- 5 ppbin water
- Boiling point
- ≈ 168 °C at atmospheric pressure
The two axes are 42 points apart. Volatility tells you whether the compound leaves a surface early or late; the threshold tells you how much of it the nose needs before it notices. When the two sit this far apart, they explain things the percentages on an analysis cannot explain on their own.
Where it comes from
Biosynthetic pathway: Microbial origin — made by bacteria and yeasts, not by plants.
Ethanol, acetic acid and fruity esters are all made by yeasts and bacteria, but the raw material is the plant’s sugar. The microbial pathway is almost always a second layer placed on top of what the plant has made.
About the threshold figure
Low. It gives the pineapple and apple notes in ripe fruit and in wine.
Published thresholds differ by several orders of magnitude, because of differences in measuring method, sample purity and panel. The figure here is an order of magnitude for relative comparison, not a measurement. We give it only for compounds where the literature broadly agrees — 52 of the 106 compounds in the library. The rest are left blank rather than guessed.
Why it sits where it does
An eight-carbon ester, two carbons longer than ethyl butanoate, so it boils about forty-seven degrees higher. One family of compounds, two speeds.
Where else you meet it
Jackfruit, pineapple, wine, beer. One of the most common esters in ripe fruit.