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Hibiscus

Herbs & floral· floral

Hibiscus

What it is

Hibiscus is the dried calyx of Hibiscus sabdariffa, a tropical plant used to make infusions and syrups.

What it tastes like

On the nose: almond, fatty, orange-rose, citrus. Among its measured molecules: isoamyl butyrate, butanone, methyl acetate, 5-methylfurfural, pentanal.

What goes with it

266 more go with it. See them all in the full library →

Salt and acid

Salt

0 mgAsian pear10 mgCinnamon100 mgFennel seed1,000 mgOlive10,000 mgFish sauce

Sodium 4 mg per 100 g — USDA FoodData Central 171946.

Acid

Acid not measured yet.

Unusual pairings

Pairs the library can cite that almost nobody makes.

15 of 49 compounds on file carry a paper the library can cite.

  • benzaldehydearomaaldehydereads as burning aromatic taste (PubChem)Measured in 54 of 338 ingredients.cite
    53,396 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; it survives drying better than most, at 49,355 after sun dryingJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Benzaldehyde')
  • hexanalaromaaldehydereads as sharp, aldehyde odor (PubChem)Measured in 85 of 338 ingredients.cite
    100,121 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 59,056 after commercial-oven dryingJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Hexanal')
  • linaloolaromaalcoholreads as spicy, citrus taste (PubChem)Measured in 91 of 338 ingredients.cite
    548,431 in the fresh calyx, by far the largest fresh-calyx value; falls to 5,819-22,827 across all five drying methodsJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Linalool')
  • butanonearomaketonereads as sweet, pleasant, pungent (PubChem)Measured in 8 of 338 ingredients.cite
    100,594 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 2,816-13,176 across the dried samplesJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '2-Butanone')
  • methyl acetatearomaesterreads as pleasant odor (PubChem)Measured in 9 of 338 ingredients.cite
    14,252 in the fresh calyx, rising to 442,728 after vacuum drying (290,587 sun, 243,853 commercial oven)Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Methyl acetate')
  • furfuralaromafuranreads as almond-like odor (PubChem)Measured in 33 of 338 ingredients.cite
    5,093 in the fresh calyx, rising to 565,607 in the commercial-oven-dried calyx — the largest single value anywhere in the table; also 442,585 laboratory oven, 380,159 sun, 379,572 vacuumJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2 (Volatile compounds (peak areas relative to dry matter content) identified in the fresh and dried roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) calyx), row 'Furfural')
  • isoamyl butyratearomaesterMeasured in 4 of 338 ingredients.cite
    40,922 in the fresh calyx; it does not survive drying — 1,709 after commercial-oven drying and zero in the other four dried samplesJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '3-Methylbutyl butanoate')
  • pentanalaromaaldehydereads as it has sharp, penetrating flavor (PubChem)Measured in 15 of 338 ingredients.cite
    46,310 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 29,236 after laboratory-oven dryingJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Pentanal')
  • 1-hexanolaromaalcoholreads as fatty, fruity (PubChem)Measured in 48 of 338 ingredients.cite
    118,601 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 72,258 after sun drying and 1,663-3,238 after the othersJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '1-Hexanol')
  • ethyl acetatearomaesterreads as fragrant odor (PubChem)Measured in 42 of 338 ingredients.cite
    164,108 in the fresh calyx and 188,847 after laboratory-oven drying, its maximumJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Ethyl acetate')
  • 5-methylfurfuralaromafuranMeasured in 10 of 338 ingredients.cite
    1,710 in the fresh calyx, rising to 53,826 after commercial-oven drying — a compound this profile carries only because of what drying doesJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '5-Methyl-2-furfural')
  • 2-amylfuranaromafuranMeasured in 23 of 338 ingredients.cite
    6,330 in the fresh calyx, rising to 53,767 after sun drying and 31,274 after commercial-oven dryingJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '2-Pentylfuran')
  • limonenearomaterpenoidreads as pleasant lemon-like (PubChem)Measured in 91 of 338 ingredients.cite
    39,828 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 4,057-11,478 across the dried samplesJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Limonene')
  • isoamyl alcoholaromaalcoholMeasured in 43 of 338 ingredients.cite
    50,370 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 33,726 after sun dryingJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '3-methylbutanol')
  • nonanalaromaaldehydereads as orange-rose odor (PubChem)Measured in 59 of 338 ingredients.cite
    75,446 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 23,189 after commercial-oven dryingJuhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Nonanal')

On file, no cited source yet ✳

These molecules are on record for it from the library's earlier sources. We are buying and requesting the papers; each one that lands moves its molecule up into the cited list.

  • arachidic acidacid
  • hydroxycitric acidacid
  • myristic acidacid
  • palmitic acidacidreads as slight characteristic taste (PubChem)
  • stearic acidacidreads as taste suggesting tallow (PubChem)
  • hibiscetinflavonoid
  • (3S,8S,9R,10R,13S,14S,17S)-10,13-dimethyl-17-[(2R)-6-methylheptan-2-yl]-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
  • (3R,5S,9S,10R,13S,14R,17S)-17-[(E,2S,5S)-5-ethyl-6-methylhept-3-en-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,5,6,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
  • (3R,8R,9R,10S,13R,14R,17S)-17-[(2R,5R)-5-ethyl-6-methylheptan-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
  • (3S,9R,10S,13R,14S,17R)-17-[(E,2S,5R)-5,6-dimethylhept-3-en-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
  • (3S,8S,9R,10R,13S,14S,17S)-17-[(2R,5R)-5,6-dimethylheptan-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
  • 5,7,8-trihydroxy-3-[(2S,3R,4R,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy-2-(3,4,5-trihydroxyphenyl)chromen-4-oneflavonoid
  • (3S,8S,9R,10R,13S,14S,17S)-17-[(E,2S,5S)-5-ethyl-6-methylhept-3-en-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
  • beta-Sitosterol 3-O-beta-D-galactopyranosideterpenoid
  • citric acidacidreads as strongly acidic taste (PubChem)
  • eugenolphenolreads as odor of cloves (PubChem)
  • gossypolterpenoid
  • lauric acidacidreads as characteristic, like oil of bay (PubChem)
  • α-maltosesugar
  • oleic acidacidreads as peculiar lard-like odor (PubChem)
  • quercetinflavonoid
  • linoleic acidacid
  • gossypetinflavonoid
  • myricetinflavonoid
  • potassium
  • magnesiumreads as none (PubChem)
  • trigonellinenitrogen compound
  • gossypitrinflavonoid
  • allo-hydroxycitric acid lactoneacid
  • protocatechuic acidacid
  • Delphinidin 3-O-sambubiosideflavonoid
  • potassium cation
  • magnesium(2+)
  • Hibiscus acid 6-methyl ester

Sources

  • Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules