Author: Jason Horn

The diacetyl molecule makes butter, “buttered” popcorn, and buttery Chardonnay taste buttery, but it’s also implicated in a deadly lung disease and some multimillion-dollar lawsuits.

With the arrival of fall and pumpkin-spice…everything, here’s the story of an aromatic molecule that caused a four-year Manhattan smell mystery).

For some, eating asparagus makes their pee smell funny. Others are immune—some to detecting the odor even when it’s there, and others to producing it in the first place. Here’s the science behind the phenomenon.

Why don’t banana candies taste anything like the bananas you’re used to? The fascinating answer involves a worldwide plant plague and this fruity-smelling organic chemical.