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Sweet and Sour Meatballs

"I grew up in Japan, and my Mother got this recipe from some Catholic nuns there during the 50's. It's been a family favorite ever since. If you're a vegetarian, try this sauce with vegetables only. It's wonderful that way also!"

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 17 ingredients
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Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

6 servings
Prep30 min
Cook30 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1151Calories
50 gProtein
36 gFat
155 gCarbs

Counts 13 of 14 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 13 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Pineapple1 cup chunks (165g)82
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Pepper + pineappletop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together533 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Pineapple + vinegartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together411 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the pineapple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, egg, onion, pepper, sauce, vinegar, sugar):

  1. Avocadofits better
  2. Lemonfits better
  3. Limefits better
  4. Pineapplethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, egg, onion, pepper, sauce, vinegar, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.