Summer savory
Herbs & floral· herb

What it is
Summer savory is the leaf of Satureja hortensis, an annual herb in the mint family.
What it tastes like
On the nose: thyme, pine, citrus. Among its measured molecules: thymol acetate, alpha-bisabolene, carvacrol methyl ether, thymol, carvacrol.
What goes with it
- Grains of paradiseboth carry carvacrol, thymolcite
- Linden blossomboth carry carvacrol, thymolcite
- Bay leafboth carry terpinen-4-ol, pinecite
Salt and acid
Salt
Sodium 24 mg per 100 g — USDA FoodData Central 170936.
Acid
Acid not measured yet.
Unusual pairings
Pairs the library can cite that almost nobody makes.
- Summer savory + Thyme
both carry carvacrol, thymol (50 of 338 carry it)
- Summer savory + Grains of paradise
both carry carvacrol, thymol (50 of 338 carry it)
- Summer savory + Tangerine
both carry terpinen-4-ol, pine (75 of 338 carry it)
15 of 22 compounds on file carry a paper the library can cite.
alpha-pinenearomaterpenoidreads as odor of turpentine (PubChem)Measured in 71 of 338 ingredients.cite
1.7% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'α‐Pinene', column 'S. hortensis (%)')thymolaromaphenolreads as aromatic odor (PubChem)Measured in 9 of 338 ingredients.cite
45.1% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil -- the most abundant constituent in this sample — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2 (Essential oil compositions of flowering aerial parts with flower of S. macrantha and S. hortensis), row 'Thymol', column 'S. hortensis (%)')α-phellandrenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 29 of 338 ingredients.cite
0.3% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'α‐Phellandrene', column 'S. hortensis (%)')γ‑terpinenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 44 of 338 ingredients.cite
29.9% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'γ‐Terpinene', column 'S. hortensis (%)')α-terpinenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 16 of 338 ingredients.cite
3.3% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'α‐Terpinene', column 'S. hortensis (%)')p-cymenearomaterpenoidreads as mild pleasant odor (PubChem)Measured in 42 of 338 ingredients.cite
8.2% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'p‐Cymene', column 'S. hortensis (%)')carvacrolaromaphenolreads as thymol odor (PubChem)Measured in 9 of 338 ingredients.cite
3.2% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'Carvacrol', column 'S. hortensis (%)')terpinen-4-olaromaalcoholreads as pine (PubChem)Measured in 41 of 338 ingredients.cite
0.5% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'Terpinen‐4‐ol', column 'S. hortensis (%)')beta-pinenearomaterpenoidreads as terpene odor (PubChem)Measured in 55 of 338 ingredients.cite
1.3% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'β‐Pinene', column 'S. hortensis (%)')α-thujenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 19 of 338 ingredients.cite
0.8% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'α‐Thujene', column 'S. hortensis (%)')limonenearomaterpenoidreads as pleasant lemon-like (PubChem)Measured in 91 of 338 ingredients.cite
0.4% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'Limonene', column 'S. hortensis (%)')myrcenearomaterpenoidreads as pleasant (PubChem)Measured in 68 of 338 ingredients.cite
1.8% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'Myrcene', column 'S. hortensis (%)')thymol acetatearomaterpenoidMeasured in 2 of 338 ingredients.cite
0.3% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'Thymyl acetate', column 'S. hortensis (%)')carvacrol methyl etheraromaterpenoidMeasured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite
0.6% of hydrodistilled S. hortensis essential oil — Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition (Table 2, row 'Carvacrol methyl ether', column 'S. hortensis (%)')alpha-bisabolenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 2 of 338 ingredients.cite
4.08% mean across three harvest cuts of unfertilized field-grown S. hortensis — Benli et al. 2025, Biology (Table 8 (Major essential oil components: α-terpinene, cymol, α-bisabolene and α-phellandrene), row 'Unfertilized', 'α-Bisabolene' 'Mean' column)
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.
- β-phellandreneterpenoidreads as burning taste (PubChem)
- 3-careneterpenoid
- pulegoneterpenoidreads as pleasant odor, midway between peppermint and camphor (PubChem)
- (2S,4R)-1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-olterpenoid
- caryophylleneterpenoid
- linaloolalcoholreads as spicy, citrus taste (PubChem)
- 4-Menthen-8-olterpenoid
Sources
- Elmdoustazar et al. 2025, Food Science & Nutrition
- Benli et al. 2025, Biology