Scent dictionary · Scent families
Citrus
Chua the
The smell of fruit peel squeezed open. It evaporates faster than any other family, so it is always the first to arrive and the first to leave. The bright, cold feeling at the tip of the nose comes not from temperature but from speed.
14 entries · 15 linked compounds
lighter than essential oils
Dimethyl sulfide · 37 °C
cis-3-Hexenol · 156 °C
Myrcene · 167 °C
Limonene · 176 °C
p-Menth-1-ene · 177 °C
γ-Terpinene · 183 °C
Neral · 227 °C
Citral · 229 °C
Geranial · 229 °C
Geraniol · 230 °C
Carvone · 231 °C
Methyl anthranilate · 256 °C
Valencene · 274 °C
α-Humulene · 275 °C
Nootkatone · 290 °C
< 150 °CTop
Middle
290 °CBase
15 linked compounds, from 11 of the family’s 14 entries. This is what we have been able to trace so far, not the whole chemistry of the family — entries whose chemistry is still blank will fill in the picture over time. Left of the dashed line are compounds lighter than any essential-oil component — they are gone before the main axis begins.
Citrus14 entries
Green ambarella
Sour star fruit
Ripe kumquat peel
Bruised lemongrass
Crushed pomelo peel
King orange peel
Vietnamese lime peel
Every entry
- Aged tangerine peel · Trần bìA piece of tangerine peel dried and aged for years, bought from a traditional medicine shop
- Bruised lemongrass · Sả đập dậpBruise a fresh stalk of lemongrass and smell right at the bruise
- Buddha’s hand · Phật thủTake a ripe yellow Buddha’s hand and lightly scratch the peel with a fingernail
- Candied pomelo peel · Mứt vỏ bưởiSmell a piece of home-made candied pomelo peel while it is still warm
- Crushed pomelo peel · Vỏ bưởi bópSqueeze a piece of Nam Roi pomelo peel hard, so the oil sprays out
- Gold apple · Quả thịA ripe yellow gold apple in a net bag, smelled from a hand’s span away
- Green ambarella · Cóc xanhPeel a green ambarella and smell the flesh as soon as it is exposed
- King orange peel · Vỏ cam sànhSqueeze a piece of dark-green, knobbly king orange peel
- Passion fruit · Chanh dâyCut a ripe passion fruit in half and smell the pulp
- Ripe kumquat peel · Quất chínLightly squeeze the peel of a ripe yellow kumquat
- Ripe tamarind · Me chínShell a ripe tamarind pod and smell the brown flesh inside
- Salted preserved lime · Chanh muốiOpen a jar of limes salted for more than six months and smell the brine
- Sour star fruit · Khế chuaSnap a sour star fruit in two and smell the break at once
- Vietnamese lime peel · Vỏ chanh taSqueeze a Vietnamese lime and smell the peel, not the juice