In short
Ethyl acetoacetate is a keto ester with a sweet, ethereal fruity odour. It is used for fresh, slightly green fruit effects in top notes.
What Ethyl Acetoacetate smells like
Ethyl acetoacetate is a fruity, ethereal, sweet ester reminiscent of green apples, with a rum-like facet. Prodasynth gives fruity, sweet, rum-like; Pell Wall ethereal, fruity-apple, sweet, rum-like. Arctander, as quoted by Pell Wall, notes its occasional use to support ethereal, winey, brandy-like and fresh-citrus top notes, and to give alcohol an 'aged' note. It can slowly react with aldehydes and lose impact.
- Leading note
- Ethereal green apple
- Supporting facets
- Rum-like, winey, brandy
- Faint facets
- Tutti-frutti
- Character
- Light, ethereal, sweet
What makes Ethyl Acetoacetate distinctive
A light, boozy apple — ethereal and rum-like, suited to giving a brandy-like age to a top note.
How Ethyl Acetoacetate is used
Used occasionally in light, winey and brandy-like top notes; it is also the starting material for Fructone.
Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).
How Ethyl Acetoacetate differs from similar materials
- Fructone
- Fructone, made from it, is sweeter, rounder and more tenacious; ethyl acetoacetate is a lighter, ethereal apple with a rum note.
Each difference compares the published descriptions of the two materials. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.
Identity and classification
- Type
- Aroma chemical
- Origin
- Synthetic
- Odour family
- Fruity
- Note position
- Top note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Liquid
- Also known as
- Ethyl 3-oxobutanoate
- CAS number
- 141-97-9
- Molecular formula
- C6H10O3
- Molecular weight
- 130.14 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- ethyl 3-oxobutanoate
The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 8868, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 October 2026.
Safety and compliance
Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory classify it (2,392 reports): H319 causes serious eye irritation (17.4% of reports). 1,836 of the reports find it does not meet the hazard criteria. Unless it is harmonised, this is the notifiers' own classification, not a binding one.
This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.
Materials it works with
-
Ethyl Butyrate
Aroma chemical · Fruity / Gourmand — pineapple, fruity, sweet
-
Ethyl 2-Methylbutyrate
Aroma chemical · Fruity / Green — apple, fruity, juicy, green
-
Hexyl Acetate
Aroma chemical · Fruity / Green — pear, apple, fruity, green
-
Fructone
Aroma chemical · Fruity / Gourmand — apple, pineapple, fruity, sweet
Ethyl Acetoacetate is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Fraistone.
Used in formulas and accords
Used in 4 published formulas
Ethyl Acetoacetate is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula and 3 accords in the Formula & Accord Library.
Community formulas
RUŌOD House Originals
Original compositions by RUŌOD House.
Further reading
Questions about Ethyl Acetoacetate
Is Ethyl Acetoacetate natural or synthetic?
Ethyl Acetoacetate is synthetic — it is made by chemical synthesis.
What is the CAS number of Ethyl Acetoacetate?
141-97-9. It was checked against PubChem on 19 October 2026.
Which published formulas use Ethyl Acetoacetate?
Ethyl Acetoacetate is used in 4 published formulas in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library, including Açaí Accord, Apple Cellar and Gardenia Accord. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.
Sources
- PubChem — compound 8868, checked 19 October 2026.
- PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
- The Good Scents Company — ethyl acetoacetate (with Prodasynth, Symrise and Pell Wall descriptions) — odour database.
- ChemicalBook — ethyl acetoacetate (CAS 141-97-9) — odour database.
- Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 20 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.