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Acetyl Furan

Q: Is Acetyl Furan natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Commercially synthesized by Friedel-Crafts acylation of furan with acetic anhydride. Occurs naturally in many cooked foods (bread, coffee, caramel) through Maillard reaction chemistry. The synthetic is identical to the naturally occurring molecule. CAS 1192-62-7..

SWEETS AND GOURMAND SMELLS / sweet · warm · gourmand

Acetyl Furan

Category	SWEETS AND GOURMAND SMELLS
Subcategory	sweet · warm · gourmand
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	N/A — synthetic compound (also found naturally in coffee, cocoa, bread)
Appearance	Colorless to pale yellow crystals or liquid
Odor Strength	High
Producing Countries	China, Germany, United States
Pyramid	Heart

Warm, bready, caramel-adjacent. Acetyl furan smells like a boulangerie at dawn — toasted grain, warm dough, a whisper of toffee.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Warm, bready, slightly sweet-caramel. The smell of a fresh baguette's crust — toasted grain with a faint toffee edge. At dilution, more sweet and warm than specifically bready. Lighter than maltol (cotton candy), less burnt than furfural, warmer and more rounded than pure caramel.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Warm bready burst, toasted grain, faint toffee

After a few hours

Softer warmth, less bready, more sweet-caramel

After a few days

Faint warm sweetness, barely perceptible

The Full Story

Acetyl furan (2-acetylfuran, CAS 1192-62-7) is a small organic molecule consisting of a furan ring with an acetyl group. It occurs naturally in cooked and heated foods — bread crust, roasted coffee, caramelized sugar, cooked meat — formed through the Maillard reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars.

The scent is warm, bready, slightly sweet, with a caramel-toffee undertone. At higher concentrations it becomes more distinctly bready; at dilution it reads as sweet and warm. It is one of the key odorants responsible for the characteristic smell of baked goods.

In the flavor and fragrance industry, acetyl furan is used at low dosages to add warmth, bready character, and caramel nuances to gourmand compositions. Its molecular weight (110.11 g/mol) places it in the top-to-heart range of volatility.

The furan ring system is common in food aromas but less frequent in fine perfumery — acetyl furan bridges the gap between food chemistry and fragrance, providing a specifically gourmand quality.

Explore all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Ambermax · Ambrofix · Egg · Ethyl Maltol · Flour · Furfural · Genepi · Gold

Did You Know?

Did you know?

The Maillard reaction — the chemical process that produces acetyl furan in bread crust — was first described by French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard in 1912. It is responsible for the flavor and aroma of virtually every cooked food, from seared steak to roasted coffee.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Commercially synthesized by Friedel-Crafts acylation of furan with acetic anhydride. Occurs naturally in many cooked foods (bread, coffee, caramel) through Maillard reaction chemistry. The synthetic is identical to the naturally occurring molecule. CAS 1192-62-7.

Molecular Formula	C6H6O2
CAS Number	1192-62-7
Botanical Name	N/A — synthetic compound (also found naturally in coffee, cocoa, bread)
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	2-Acetylfuran
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	High
Lasting Power	> 408 hours at 100.00%
Appearance	Colorless to pale yellow crystals or liquid
Boiling Point	67.00 °C. @ 10.00 mm Hg
Flash Point	160.00 °F. TCC ( 71.11 °C. )
Specific Gravity	1.10200 to 1.10700 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index	1.50500 to 1.51000 @ 20.00 °C.
Melting Point	29.00 to 33.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg

In Perfumery

Acetyl furan (2-acetylfuran, CAS 1192-62-7) functions as a gourmand modifier providing bready, toasted-grain warmth. Used at low dosages (0.1-1%) in gourmand, bakery, and warm-sweet compositions. Part of the Maillard reaction odorant family alongside furfural, maltol, and furaneol. Adds naturalistic baked-goods character that purely sweet materials (vanillin, ethyl maltol) cannot provide. Pairs with vanillin, coumarin, and lactones in gourmand bases.