BBQ Sauce

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. Sauce + ketchuptop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together1,099 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

2. Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together3,431 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

3. Ketchup + sugartop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together260 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

4. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together20,633 recipes

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

5. Sauce + sugartop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together5,147 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Onion

Adds savory aromatic base and body as it softens in the sauce.

Tomato sauce

Provides the main liquid and body, along with tomato flavor.

Ketchup

Adds sweetness, tang and thickness to the sauce.

Cider vinegar

Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the sweetness.

Light brown sugar

Adds sweetness and helps the sauce caramelize and darken as it cooks.

Molasses

Adds deep sweetness, color and a rich, slightly bitter flavor.

The step that matters

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, sauce, ketchup, cider, vinegar, sugar, butter):

1. Capsicumfits better
2. Mustardfits better
3. Cucumberfits better
4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, sauce, ketchup, cider, vinegar, sugar, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.