Bacon might be one of the most tired tropes on the internet today, but that doesn’t make it any less delicious. Part of what makes it so mesmerizing is the smell it gives off when it’s cooking, but there’s been surprisingly little research regarding what exactly makes it smell so good. Well, wait no longer: Thanks to the combined efforts of the American Chemical Society and chemistry blog Compound Interest, we now know bacon’s smell is the result of about 150 organic compounds.

Part of the secret to bacon’s smell is in how you cook it. Most people familiar with the process know that best results are achieved by starting the bacon in a cold pan over moderate heat in order to allow the fat to slowly render out. Once the pan reaches temperature, something called the Maillard Reaction occurs – sugars react with amino acids at around 350 degrees Fahrenheit to produce the pleasant brown color we associate with expertly cooked proteins.

When those two combine (the rendered fats and the browning proteins), over 150 organic compounds are released to form the trademark smell. Some of them were exclusive to bacon, including 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2,3-dimethylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methylpyrazine and 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine (all nitrogen-containing compounds). Other compounds found in most pork products (including bacon) were hydrocarbons, alcohols, ketones and aldehydes, which were present in large quantities.

Check out the ACS video explaining it in more detail below: