Printed from smellbook.com/smells/mango. This printout keeps the entry for Mango 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.
Categories and types group entries for browsing; they are editorial, not evidence. How smells are grouped.
A rich tropical fruit smell with juicy, sweet, green and floral associations.
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 Mango (the food or drink, not this smell entry) lists every smell recorded as coming from it.
Mango smells rich, soft and sweet, with a juicy, almost creamy depth. EDITORIAL
Named in the VERIFIED claims about this smell: not a list of what it is made of, and not its cause.
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 MANGO
Mango smells rich, soft and sweet, with a juicy, almost creamy depth. Around that sweetness run a green, slightly resinous note close to the skin and a floral, peach-like brightness in the flesh. Ripe fruit smells round and generous rather than sharp, and very ripe mango turns heavier and more syrupy, sometimes close to apricot or passion fruit.
It turns up at market stalls and in fruit bowls when the fruit softens, on the cutting board as the flesh is sliced away from the stone, and in smoothies, lassi-style drinks, chutneys and summer desserts.
Typical settings: fresh fruit, market, smoothie.
SmellBook links it to one place page: see it in Connections.
2 VERIFIED scientific claims from one published source are recorded for this entry: Many volatiles may contribute to mango aroma and Compounds potentially most important to mango aroma. Each 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.
8 molecules are named in one of these claims, Compounds potentially most important to mango aroma; 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.
Mango varies strongly across cultivar and ripeness; this profile represents the familiar ripe-fruit experience.
SmellBook records one written comparison with other smells: see it in Connections.
Words that are easy to mix up: Why is creamy not just sweet? and Where do floral and powdery meet?
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 · 2 claims
Chemistry reported
Many volatiles may contribute to mango aroma
From odour detection thresholds and concentrations in 20 mango cultivars, a study named the compounds potentially most important to mango aroma, noted that numerous other volatiles may also contribute, and stated that sensory studies are needed to determine the volatiles truly defining mango aroma.
Odour activity values only, with no sensory test; the study names no single defining molecule and does not report how the aroma differs between cultivars.
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. Studied: twenty mango cultivars, by odour thresholds and concentrations.
Jorge A. Pino & J. Mesa
DOI 10.1002/ffj.1703Compounds potentially most important to mango aroma
From odour detection thresholds and concentrations in 20 mango cultivars, the compounds potentially most important to mango aroma include ethyl 2-methylpropanoate, ethyl butanoate, (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal, (E)-2-nonenal, methyl benzoate, (E)-β-ionone, decanal and 2,5-dimethyl-4-methoxy-3(2H)-furanone.
Odour activity values only; the authors state that sensory studies are needed to determine the volatiles truly defining mango aroma.
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.
Jorge A. Pino & J. Mesa
DOI 10.1002/ffj.1703Each 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.
MY SMELLBOOK · LOCAL ONLY
These controls save only in this browser. Nothing here is uploaded to a SmellBook account or server.
Personal tags stay in this browser and do not change the entry's own smell words.
MAP THIS SMELL
Follow the related smells our editors recorded, or use Smell Between to compare this smell with any other, field by field.
WHERE THIS SMELL APPEARS
These links were chosen by editors to help you explore; they are not scores or rankings.
FOR RESEARCHERS AND EDITORS
Identity, revision history, corrections and how to cite Mango.
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-0152 — Mangosmellbook:smell:mangohttps://smellbook.com/smells/mangoSmellBook. (2026). Mango (revision 4, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:mango. https://smellbook.com/smells/mango@misc{smellbook_mango_r4,
author = {{SmellBook}},
title = {Mango},
year = {2026},
note = {SmellBook Public Atlas, revision 4, 2026-10-06, smellbook:smell:mango},
url = {https://smellbook.com/smells/mango}
}TY - ENCYC ID - smellbook-mango-r4 TI - Mango AU - SmellBook T2 - SmellBook Public Atlas PY - 2026 DA - 2026/10/06 ET - revision 4 UR - https://smellbook.com/smells/mango N1 - SB-0152; smellbook:smell:mango; resolver https://smellbook.com/id/smell/mango ER -
The citation names revision 4 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.
Mango varies strongly across cultivar and ripeness; this profile represents the familiar ripe-fruit experience.
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 ↗