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Furaneol

Q: Is Furaneol natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Found naturally in strawberries, pineapple, tomato, and malt. Produced synthetically by various routes including hydroxylation of furanone precursors. Natural isolation is not commercially practical due to low concentrations in source materials..

SWEETS AND GOURMAND SMELLS / gourmand · caramel · strawberry

Furaneol

Category	SWEETS AND GOURMAND SMELLS
Subcategory	gourmand · caramel · strawberry
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	N/A — synthetic molecule (nature-identical; found in Fragaria × ananassa, Ananas comosus)
Appearance	White to pale yellow crystalline solid
Producing Countries	Manufactured globally (China, Europe, Japan)
Pyramid	Heart

Intensely sweet, caramelized-strawberry with a burnt-sugar warmth. Furaneol smells like strawberry jam cooking on a stove — fruity, caramelized, almost overwhelmingly sweet.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Overwhelmingly sweet at concentration — caramelized strawberry, burnt sugar, cotton candy. At dilution, a subtle fruity-caramel modifier. More fruity than maltol, more 'cooked' than ethyl maltol, distinctly strawberry-like. The caramel quality has a burnt edge — not clean sugar but caramelized, almost smoky sweetness.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Intense caramelized-strawberry burst. Overwhelmingly sweet if concentrated.

After a few hours

Burnt-sugar caramel heart. Fruity character persists. Smoky-sweet warmth.

After a few days

Lingering caramel sweetness. Persistent at trace levels. Slow fade.

The Full Story

CAS 3658-77-3. Also known as DMHF (2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone) or strawberry furanone. A naturally occurring molecule found in strawberries, pineapple, tomato, and roasted foods. Furaneol is a potent sweet-fruity aroma compounds known.

The scent is intensely sweet, with a particular caramelized-strawberry character. It combines fruity sweetness with a burnt-sugar, almost cotton-candy warmth. At high concentrations, it is overwhelmingly sweet; at trace levels, it provides a subtle fruity-caramel modifier. The molecule is a key contributor to the aroma of ripe strawberries — it is the reason strawberries smell 'cooked' even when raw.

In perfumery, furaneol is used in gourmand and fruity compositions at very low concentrations. Its extreme potency (detectable at parts-per-billion levels) means that even 0.01% in a formula can have a significant impact.

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Related: Caramel · Maltol · Methyl Cyclopentenolone · Praline · Toffee

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Furaneol has one of the lowest odor thresholds of any food-safe molecule — humans can detect it at concentrations of approximately 0.04 parts per billion in water. A single gram of pure furaneol contains enough scent molecules to be theoretically detectable in 25,000 tonnes of water.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Found naturally in strawberries, pineapple, tomato, and malt. Produced synthetically by various routes including hydroxylation of furanone precursors. Natural isolation is not commercially practical due to low concentrations in source materials.

Molecular Formula	C6H8O3
CAS Number	3658-77-3
Botanical Name	N/A — synthetic molecule (nature-identical; found in Fragaria × ananassa, Ananas comosus)
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	Strawberry furanone, DMHF, 2,5-Dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone
Physical Properties
Appearance	White to pale yellow crystalline solid
Boiling Point	215.53 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg (est)
Flash Point	200.00 °F. TCC ( 93.33 °C. )
Melting Point	78.00 to 81.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg

In Perfumery

Trace modifier in gourmand and fruity compositions. Furaneol is used at extremely low concentrations — typically 0.001-0.05% — to add a natural strawberry-caramel sweetness. It works in berry accords, praline compositions, and fruity-gourmand blends. The molecule is too potent for use at significant levels; at high concentrations it becomes cloyingly sweet. It is one of the 'secret weapons' in gourmand perfumery — barely detectable individually but decisive in combination.