In short
Zingerone, vanillylacetone, is the compound that gives cooked ginger its sweet, spicy smell. It is related to vanillin and has a warm ginger-vanilla odour.
What Zingerone smells like
Zingerone has a sweet, warm, spicy-vanilla odour with ginger and phenolic facets. Listings give sweet, spicy, phenolic, ginger, vanilla and woody; Parchem spicy and phenolic with a balsamic character and a creamy vanilla nuance; Fraterworks a baked-ginger sweetness and a woody-balsamic base. An older perfumery reference quoted on a forum calls it sweet-spicy, warm, heavy-floral, mildly animal-balsamic and vanilla-like, with strong tenacity. It forms when ginger is cooked.
- Leading note
- Sweet cooked ginger
- Clear facets
- Vanilla
- Supporting facets
- Phenolic, woody-balsamic
- Faint facets
- Heavy floral
- Character
- Warm, sweet, tenacious
What makes Zingerone distinctive
Gingerbread rather than fresh ginger: the sweet, vanillic note of cooked ginger, not its citrus brightness.
Where the descriptions disagree: Some sources call it pungent; a forum post citing older literature says it is not ginger's main pungent principle.
How Zingerone is used
Used in gourmand, spicy and oriental compositions and in ginger flavours.
Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).
How Zingerone differs from similar materials
- Vanillin
- Vanillin is plain vanilla pod; zingerone adds cooked ginger and a phenolic, balsamic edge.
- Ginger Oil
- Ginger oil is the fresh root — lemony, woody and earthy; zingerone is the sweet, vanillic note of cooked ginger.
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.
Formulation considerations
A solid; dissolve before use.
Identity and classification
- Type
- Aroma chemical
- Origin
- Occurs in nature
- Odour family
- Spicy / Gourmand
- Note position
- Base note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Solid
- Also known as
- Vanillylacetone, 4-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)butan-2-one
- CAS number
- 122-48-5
- Molecular formula
- C11H14O3
- Molecular weight
- 194.23 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- 4-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)butan-2-one
The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 31211, 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 report it as not meeting the GHS hazard criteria (1,413 of 1,421 reports). 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
-
Ginger Oil
Essential oil · Spicy / Citrus — spicy, warm, lemony, woody
-
Vanillin
Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Amber — vanilla, sweet, creamy
-
Cardamom Oil
Essential oil · Spicy / Aromatic — spicy, aromatic, fresh, eucalyptus
-
Eugenol
Aroma chemical · Spicy / Floral — clove, spicy, warm
Zingerone is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Turmeric Oil.
Used in formulas and accords
Used in 1 published formula
Zingerone is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula in the Formula & Accord Library.
RUŌOD House Originals
Original compositions by RUŌOD House.
Further reading
Questions about Zingerone
Is Zingerone natural or synthetic?
The molecule occurs in nature. Commercial Zingerone may be made by synthesis or obtained from natural sources, so check the supplier's specification if the distinction matters to you.
What is the CAS number of Zingerone?
122-48-5. It was checked against PubChem on 19 October 2026.
Which published formulas use Zingerone?
Zingerone is used in 1 published formula in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library: Ginger Biscuit Tin. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.
Sources
- PubChem — compound 31211, 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 — zingerone — odour database.
- Parchem — zingerone — distributor's description.
- Fraterworks — zingerone — distributor's description.
- Basenotes — ginger (forum, quoting an older perfumery reference) — published perfumery reference.
- Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 21 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.