Printed from smellbook.com/smells/cinnamon. This printout keeps the entry for Cinnamon itself: its description, reference card, Connections, questions, evidence, related smells, record details, states, names and citation. It leaves out your own notes, the map, the lists of paths, routes, stories and fragrance directions, and the lists headed “Also linked to” (other entries that share its place or material) and “Linked from”; they are on the page online. The entries this one links to are still printed under Connections and Related smells.
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Spanish (pilot): Canela · pending native-speaker review · Leer en español (piloto)
Warm, sweet-spicy and woody aromatic character associated with cinnamon bark and cooking.
Its type, Source, means the smell is named after “a physical origin that can contribute a smell”; it is not an evidence source, such as a study or a book. The origin page for Cinnamon (the food or drink, not this smell entry) lists every smell recorded as coming from it.
Cinnamon smells warm, sweet and spicy, with a woody, slightly hot edge. EDITORIAL
Named in the VERIFIED claims about this smell: not a list of what it is made of, and not its cause.
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Links SmellBook records for this entry: what it comes from, where you meet it, molecules, related smells and comparisons. EDITORIAL links are chosen by SmellBook editors and VERIFIED links come from VERIFIED claims. Nothing here is a ranking, and a molecule is not presented as the cause of the smell.
QUESTIONS ABOUT CINNAMON
Cinnamon smells warm, sweet and spicy, with a woody, slightly hot edge. Ground spice is soft and dusty, while a broken stick is sharper and brighter. In baking it turns rounder, more caramel-like and comforting. The smell is strong and lasting, and it easily dominates a room. It can be confused with cassia or clove, though cinnamon is gentler and sweeter.
People meet it in kitchens during baking, when opening the spice cupboard, and in hot drinks and mulled wine in cold weather. Many people link it with festive seasons, markets and pastry shops.
Typical settings: baking, spice cupboard, hot drink.
SmellBook links it to one place page: see it in Connections.
One VERIFIED scientific claim from one published source is recorded for this entry: Cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon bark aroma. This claim says only what its source supports, in the scope shown with it.
The scientific study behind this evidence is chemistry or emission work, not a study of how the smell is perceived.
7 molecules are named in this claim; see the evidence for the role the claim gives them. Each molecule this claim names has only the role the claim states; one molecule is not the whole smell.
Cinnamon can function as a spice source, food cue and seasonal cultural association.
SmellBook records one written comparison with other smells: see it in Connections.
Words that are easy to mix up: When does woody become smoky?, Why is creamy not just sweet?, Is every warm smell spicy? and When is woody also resinous?
No historical source or heritage record is linked to this entry yet.
Answers marked EDITORIAL are written by SmellBook editors to describe the experience and add no scientific fact. Answers marked VERIFIED point to claims on published sources, checked against each source's own summary where one was available (each claim's page says how); what each claim supports is in its own text and scope.
Scientific evidence · 1 claim
Cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon bark aroma
In a water extract of cinnamon bark assessed by odour activity values, cinnamaldehyde made the largest contribution to the aroma, among aroma-active compounds that also included hexanal, nonanal, limonene, 1-octen-3-ol, linalool and anethole.
Laboratory extracts of one bark sample; the extraction medium and time changed the profile.
How this was found: Odour activity estimate. Compounds were measured and compared with known odour thresholds; nobody smelled this sample to confirm it. Source: primary study; chemistry work.
Wenwen Zhang, Chuankang Jia, Huimin Yan, Yalin Peng, Enmin Hu, Jun Qi & Qing Lin
DOI 10.3390/app12031284Each molecule is named by the claim shown after it. Each molecule named here has only the role the claim states; one molecule is not the whole smell. About molecules in SmellBook
Links chosen by SmellBook editors, not a ranking.
Associations can vary strongly by person, place and culture.
PATHS FROM HERE
Each step is a relationship SmellBook editors recorded in the knowledge graph, named as it is published there. Paths are not ranked or personalised, and they do not mean the smells smell alike.
Each step is a molecule that a VERIFIED claim names for both smells, in whatever role the claims state. Sharing a molecule does not mean two smells smell alike.
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WHERE THIS SMELL APPEARS
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IN FRAGRANCE & SPACES
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FOR RESEARCHERS AND EDITORS
Identity, revision history, corrections and how to cite Cinnamon.
CULTURAL: This entry's associations depend on context, language, memory or culture; its description and smell words are editorial. It says nothing about research or historical evidence; evidence for this entry is shown separately: VERIFIED.
How this entry is identified and named, for citing it or matching it with other records.
SmellBook SB-0035 — Cinnamonsmellbook:smell:cinnamonhttps://smellbook.com/smells/cinnamonSmellBook. (2026). Cinnamon (revision 3, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:cinnamon. https://smellbook.com/smells/cinnamon@misc{smellbook_cinnamon_r3,
author = {{SmellBook}},
title = {Cinnamon},
year = {2026},
note = {SmellBook Public Atlas, revision 3, 2026-10-06, smellbook:smell:cinnamon},
url = {https://smellbook.com/smells/cinnamon}
}TY - ENCYC ID - smellbook-cinnamon-r3 TI - Cinnamon AU - SmellBook T2 - SmellBook Public Atlas PY - 2026 DA - 2026/10/06 ET - revision 3 UR - https://smellbook.com/smells/cinnamon N1 - SB-0035; smellbook:smell:cinnamon; resolver https://smellbook.com/id/smell/cinnamon ER -
The citation names revision 3 of 2026-10-06, so a reader can tell exactly which version was cited. Citing records what was read; it does not grant a licence.
Cinnamon can function as a spice source, food cue and seasonal cultural association.
Other entries whose editors linked to Cinnamon:
Editorial description expanded to answer what it smells like and where you meet it; independently reviewed.
Created 2026-09-22 · Updated 2026-10-06Dataset history In the SmellBook dataset since the first of three dataset releases of 2026-09-30.
No correction notices published for this entry. Corrections policyEVIDENCE MATTERS
SmellBook separates cultural association, community perception, verified evidence, prediction and experimental relationships rather than presenting them as the same thing. Read the evidence guide ↗ See the evidence coverage report ↗