Have you ever wondered why your mouth starts watering when the bacon starts frying? As bacon cooks, sugars and amino acids react, heated fats break down, and new compounds are formed. The major contributors to the savory smell is a combination of compounds, specifically these and other basic volatiles:

• 2,5-dimethylpyrazine
• 2,3-dimethylpyrazine
• 2-ethyl-5-methylpyrazine
• 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine

There are other base compounds found in other “meaty” smells, but the combination of these seems to be fairly unique to bacon and pork.

For a more detailed analysis, the folks at Compound Interest have created a nice Why does bacon smell so good? infographic.