TurnipEntropy

Thank you for the update. If there was a simple edit button next to my post, I would edit it to be a more generalized post. Instead I shall post that I am sorry to hear this and that my post should have began as: "Actually, for those who are concerned about chemicals made synthetically vs. "naturally"," These leads me to another point I forgot in my previous message, so thank you again AAQuesada! Naturally made chemicals are still made through organic synthesis. EDIT: I see the edit button for this post, but not my other one. I suppose there is a time limit on edits, which is reasonable.

Actually, Daniel, there are no differences between compounds, such as ethanol, produced in a laboratory and those produced in nature. There may be some differences in impurities of the reaction, which is why ethanol made from petroleum distillates is illegal to sell for human consumption in the United States, but the ethanol itself is only different in radioactivity (ethanol is radioactive if made from plant matter, and isn't radioactive if made from petrol. Radioactive is actually good in this case because it is used to protect people, and the radioactivity of ethanol doesn't harm anyone). Secondly, I think you made the honest mistake of misinterpretting the aroma percentages as being translatable to the actual composition of the truffle. The main reason this can't be done is that aroma is dictated by volatility, which means how readily a compound enters the gaseous phase. Ethanol does this exceedingly easily, so even if it was present in very small quantities in the truffle (which it is), it would show up as a major component in the aroma signature, which is due to the gases let off by a substance. So 27% of the aroma profile is taken up by something that's 0.5% of the mushroom. Hilariously enough, if a compound can't enter the gas phase or somehow ineract with the receptors in your nose, you most likely won't "taste" it. Some key exceptions being capsacin (spicy) and salts. Secondary point: Most of the compounds listed would absolutely destroy your engine. Ethanol, currently being used in large engines to smooth the combustion, destroys small engines. Every other compound listed would probably eventually destroy even large engines (they would result in uncontrollable explosions due to the presence of intramolecular oxygen atoms, as opposed to the controlled explosions that occur in the engine in your car). This leads me to my final point: If you don't understand the chemistry, trust the people who do. Facts overwhelm gut reactions. Skepticism is, of course, a hallmark of scientific endeavors, so please, everyone who reads this, take the time to learn some of the basic chemistry here. Volatility is an easy concept. Do some learning before being afraid of weird names of compounds. All compounds have scary names, even the ones that are good for you.