Aldol condensation involves an aldol addition reaction followed by dehydration. In the aldol addition reaction, two identical aldehydes interact in acidic or basic conditions to form a β-hydroxy aldehyde as the initial product. Here, one aldehyde acts as a nucleophile and the other as an electrophile, creating a new carbon–carbon bond. The name aldol comes from the presence of both alcohol and aldehyde functional groups — 'ald' representing aldehyde and 'ol' corresponding to alcohol. Like aldehydes, two identical ketones also undergo an aldol addition reaction generating a β-hydroxy ketone. The formation of the β-hydroxy carbonyl compound is reversible. However, under suitable reaction conditions, the β-hydroxy aldehyde and ketone dehydrate to yield an enal and an enone, respectively. An aldol condensation between two different carbonyl compounds is called a crossed aldol reaction. Such a reaction yields a mixture of products.