Scent dictionary · Scent families
Gourmand
Ngọt bếp
Smells that arise only with heat and a human hand: cooked rice, caramelised sugar, toasted coconut. Not all of them are made by people — vanillin is already in the vanilla pod, furaneol in strawberries and pineapple. But in Vietnamese life you meet them in the kitchen more than on the plant. This is the family of the home, not of the forest.
15 entries · 13 linked compounds
lighter than essential oils
Dimethyl sulfide · 37 °C
Diacetyl · 88 °C
2,5-Dimethylpyrazine · 155 °C
2-Furfurylthiol · 155 °C
Furfural · 162 °C
2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline · 181 °C
5-Methylfurfural · 187 °C
Furaneol · 188 °C
Dipropyl disulfide · 194 °C
Maltol · 200 °C
Guaiacol · 205 °C
γ-Nonalactone · 243 °C
δ-Decalactone · 281 °C
< 150 °CTop
Middle
290 °CBase
13 linked compounds, from all 15 of the family’s entries. This is what we have been able to trace so far, not the whole chemistry of the family. Left of the dashed line are compounds lighter than any essential-oil component — they are gone before the main axis begins.
Every entry
- Cane molasses · Mật míaOpen a bottle of cane molasses and smell from about a hand’s span away
- Caramel · Đường thắngCook granulated sugar to a deep amber, turn off the heat and smell the rising steam at once
- Condensed milk · Sữa đặcOpen a tin of condensed milk and smell from a hand’s span away
- Fresh milk · Sữa tươiPour a glass of cold fresh milk and smell the surface at once
- Fresh-baked bread · Bánh mì mới ra lòBreak a loaf just out of the oven in two and smell the crumb inside
- Freshly cooked sticky rice · Cơm nếp mớiLift the lid of a pot of sticky rice that has just finished cooking
- Fried shallots · Hành phiA batch of shallots just fried golden, smelled as soon as they come out of the oil
- Grilled corn · Ngô nướngStand beside a row of corn grilling on a pavement stall and take a breath
- Pandan leaf · Lá dứaCrushed fresh pandan leaves
- Popcorn · Bỏng ngôOpen a bag of freshly popped popcorn and smell the steam rising
- Pork crackling · Tóp mỡRender a little pork fat until the cracklings turn golden, and smell them as soon as they come out
- Roasted coffee · Cà phê rangOpen a bag of freshly roasted coffee beans and smell as soon as it is opened
- Roasted sweet potato · Khoai nướngBreak a freshly roasted sweet potato in two and smell the flesh
- Scorched rice crust · Cơm cháyThe crust of scorched rice at the bottom of a cast-iron pot, prised off while still warm
- Toasted coconut · Dừa nướngGrated coconut flesh toasted golden in a dry pan