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Sauce

Barbecue Sauce From Dinah's Kitchen

A spicy barbecue sauce made with onions, garlic, chili powder, oil, vinegar, tomato catsup, tomato sauce, red chile peppers, mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper.

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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Barbecue Sauce From Dinah's Kitchen

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients.

  2. Cook for a minimum of 1 hour; two hours is better.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

215Calories
3 gProtein
15 gFat
20 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Garlic + mustardtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,259 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Tomato sauce
Forms the thick, body-giving base of the sauce.
White vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances sweetness.
Oil
Carries fat-soluble flavors from the spices and adds a smooth mouthfeel.
Chili powder
Provides the main heat and earthy, smoky chile flavor.
Onions
Contribute sweetness and savory depth as they soften during cooking.
Garlic
Adds pungent aroma that mellows and sweetens with long cooking.

The step that matters

Cooking time. Simmering for at least an hour lets the raw onion and garlic soften and the sauce thicken and blend. Cooking too briefly leaves harsh, raw flavors and a thin sauce.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, vinegar, tomato, sauce, pepper, mustard):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

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

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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