Molecules: You'd better learn to live with them.
Diacetyl is a unique molecule because it's a simple enough structure that you could expect some biochemical pathways to find their way there via glycolysis or fermentation (sure enough, yeast does. more in a minute), and it has the ineffable aroma of butter
Predictably, certain flavor chemists have made liberal use of it (in the cloying artificial butter flavor that is ubiquitous in microwave and movie popcorn).
As mentioned before, yeast can produce some diacetyl in the process of malolactic fermentation. Many winemakers have taken advantage of this, especially producers of the buttery-oaky California chardonnays.
You have as simple a molecule as diacetyl to thank for the buttery flavor in that wine!
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Comments
Also called biacetyl pretty often.
Diacetyl, and the related compound, methyl glyoxal (2 butanedione) are major players in smog chemistry. They form when methylated aromatic rings (toluene, xylenes, trimethylbenzene) open up, and they photolyze very rapidly to peroxyacetyl radicals. That drives the smog process and also leads to the formation of peroxyacetyl nitrate.
Posted by: James | August 18, 2006 5:03 PM
I've used this chemical quite a lot in the lab to make diimine ligands for Pt chemistry. It's a slightly viscous yellow liquid with a really strong, sweetly smell. At higher concentrations it becomes sickening. You've got to make sure that you keep absolutely everything that has come in contact with this chemical in the hood.
The reason I write this is that recently a margarine manufacturer in Norway came up with a margarine with "extra flavour". Bet you can guess what that extra flavour was. I simply couldn't eat it because I had smelled butanedione at too high concentrations in the lab.
Posted by: Martin Lersch | October 18, 2006 2:52 AM