Does cyanide actually smell like almonds?

IMPOTANT NOTE1: I have revised my opinion about what it smells like. In the video, I said it was like an indoor pool and I correlated it to the chlorine. However, I think it's more accurate to say the pool locker room or shower. It is musty/moldy, with a background of pool smell. IMPORTANT NOTE2: After posting this video, I got a few messages from people saying that in their experience, cyanide DOES smell like almonds. So, I spent an hour tonight doing some tests, and I think the results are interesting. I did some direct comparisons and the smell of cyanide is distinctly different from the smell of almonds. However, if I EAT the almonds, there is sometimes a faint taste of cyanide. I think this is because sweet almonds still have a very small amount of amygdalin in them, which can release HCN. I don't think it's enough to smell in open air, but in your mouth it can be concentrated enough to be detected at the back of the nose. It's subtle, but it is definitely part of the flavor profile. So, while I still don't think it's accurate to say that it smells like almonds, for some people, it might be similar to the taste. To make that connection though, the person needs to a) be able to smell HCN and b) be particularly aware of that part of the flavor. I can smell the HCN, but I never noticed it in the flavor of almonds, so I didn't make the connection. I was even looking for a similarity and eating almonds at the same time, but never noticed it. It was only when I became very familiar with the smell of HCN that I started noticing it in almonds. What's interesting too, is that now after noticing it, I feel like I've started to associate the smell with almonds. It's no longer just a "chemical" smell and it feels more almondy. However, on the flip side, I feel like almonds taste worse and are more "chemically." But either way, I still don't think that saying it smells like almonds or bitter almonds is accurate or helpful. However, based on the messages I've received, some people are naturally associating cyanide with almonds (sometimes without knowing that this was even a thing and not even knowing they were smelling cyanide). This has piqued my interest and I think it could be fun to get to the bottom of this and to do a trial with a lot more people.

Things I learned from this video: - Almonds smell like nothing - Cyanide smells like cyanide

This should be renamed to: "NileRed tries to discover the smell of almonds"

I love how it’s 5 minutes of the cyanide chemistry and 15 minutes of Nigel trying to figure out what almonds smell like

Nilered: sniffs almond "smells like nothing" Nilered: sniffs military grade malodor "it's not that bad" Nilered has a weak nose.

Conclusion: Cyanide doesn't smell like almond, but almonds smell like cyanide.

Next up on NileRed: Does mustard gas smell like mustard?

"my skin cancer fell off" I can see how thats scary

When he said “benzaldehyde” I was so excited because I just watched his cherry soda video and I felt so proud that I knew what that was before he said it😊

the fact you went straight to sniffing cyanide before questioning whether you'd actually smelt almonds before is such a chemist move.

So what we found out is: 1. Cyanide doesn't smell like almonds 2. Almonds doesn't smell like almonds ;)

To get the aromatics from almonds, you need to toast them. I would blanch them in boiling water for only a few seconds, remove the skins, then dry them off. (If you try this, using nitrile gloves and simply pinching the larger round end will shoot the nuts out of the skin and leave you with the husk to throw away or use for other purposes) You can then either pan toast in a dry frying pan or lay them evenly in a shallow baking sheet. As the oils are extracted from the heat the aroma is released. The other option is to smell a concentrate via almond extract. Get a good, natural almond extract. I got a large bottle a few years back from Costco for a reasonable price. The smell is very strong and is commonly associated with cherries as well. The extract is made from bitter almonds which is also why they have a very distinct and very different smell from the sweet almonds everyone snacks on. Also note: Fresh almonds have a stronger aroma than the packaged ones that may have been in the package or sitting in a warehouse for who knows how long. If you can find them whole in the shell, it would likely produce a slightly stronger aroma. The packaged ones are likely to smell sterile and if you can smell anything, would likely be that of the packaging or seasoning that they may have flavored the almonds with. When I buy any sort of nut, almonds, walnuts, pecans, that I will use in baking I always toast them first to draw out and intensify the flavor of the nut being used. The difference is quite astounding between toasted and untoasted nuts. Something that was kind of glossed over, unsure if it was on purpose, but it was mentioned that cyanide has different smells at different concentrations. you started out with an extremely low concentration here of only 15ppm. I think in the 30-40ppm it starts forming different aroma compounds. Which I think is why you noticed a very different smell more closely associated with chlorine instead of the bitter almond aroma.

I read that the ability to smell HCN depends on a certain genetic disposition. 30 years ago I got hold of a bottle of KCN and as soon as I opened it, I could smell a strong almond like smell. So I surely have the genes for it. Maybe you should try to compare it to the smell of bitter almond baking oil, which is used, at least here in Germany, for Christmas bakery.

“I swear officer I bought a kilos worth because it was just more economically viable”

“Let’s smell some cyanide” is a 2020 mood tbh

If you still have it around - cyanide is a key component of the synthesis of many chelating agents. The ubiquitous EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid) is prepared by reacting formaldehyde and a source of cyanide anions, while sugar-based chelators like heptagluconate are often prepared through the reaction of glucose and cyanide.

Nile Red: makes almond milk Also Nile Red: Hmm, it smells like almond milk

why is nobody talking bout the 5 star review "My skin cancer fell off"

in the beginning: lets see if cyanide smells like almonds in the end: lets see if almonds smell like cyanide

The person who first made the observation must have been like : Cyanide smells like nothing. Almonds smell like nothing. Therefore, cyanide smells like almonds.