Why vanilla is one of the most liked smells
What it found
Vanilla is one of the most widely liked aromas across cultures, and most people rate it as smelling sweet.
The paper explores where that pleasant response comes from.
What they found
Studies in people
Vanilla is widely liked
Vanilla is one of the most liked smells across different cultures. It is also rated as smelling sweet by most people.
Other findings
Explanations for pleasantness
Scientists have suggested associative learning, innate factors and molecular accounts to explain why people find certain smells pleasant.
Sweet smells in food
Food scientists are increasingly interested in whether sweet smells like vanilla could help keep the sweetness of commercial food products while reducing the use of calorific sweeteners.
Cost of vanilla flavouring
Artificial vanilla flavouring is low in cost, while natural vanilla pods are high and fluctuating in price. This may make the use of vanilla aroma in food products easier.
History of vanilla use
The paper outlines the history of vanilla's use in food and medicine, with a focus on its neurocognitive appeal.
What the authors conclude
“While vanilla is one of the most widely liked aromas, it is also rated as smelling sweet to most people.”
Also in their conclusions
- They explore the origins of the hedonic response to vanilla, which is one of the most liked smells cross-culturally.
- They suggest that the low cost of artificial vanilla flavouring, compared with the high and fluctuating price of natural vanilla pods, is likely to facilitate the use of sweet smells to maintain sweetness while reducing calorific sweeteners.
How it was done
The origins of odour pleasantness remain one of the most intriguing puzzles in olfactory science, and several different accounts have been put forward to explain why people respond differently to different smells.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This paper does not report new experiments in people, animals or cells. It brings together existing ideas and history.
- It cannot show whether using sweet smells like vanilla in food products would actually help people eat less sugar.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Oxford University, UK
The paper
- Title
- Odour hedonics and the ubiquitous appeal of vanilla
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Spence C (2022). Odour hedonics and the ubiquitous appeal of vanilla. Nature food. doi:10.1038/s43016-022-00611-xPubMed 37117893DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error