Common Ingredients in sweet sour Recipes

We researched the most common ingredients in over a dozen popular sweet sour recipes and found the top 15 ingredients.

The most common ingredients in sweet sour dishes are cornstarch and soy sauce.

Ketchup, oil, brown sugar, pineapple and white sugar are also common ingredients in sweet sour recipes. For herbs and spices, white vinegar and white pepper are popular. Salt is in 40% of sweet sour recipes and pepper, 40%.

The average sweet sour recipe has about 12.7 ingredients, with a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 20.

In terms of directions, sweet sour recipes have about 4.7 steps on average, ranging from 3 to 11 instructions.

Ratios of Common Ingredients in Sweet Sour

For 1 tablespoon soy sauce (16 g), the median and average amounts of other significant ingredients are below.

Ingredient	Median	Average	% of recipes with soy sauce	Potential subsitutions
ketchup	3.5 tablespoon (60 g)	6.9 tablespoon (117 g)	83%
brown sugar	0.37 cup (82 g)	0.52 cup (114 g)	83%
white vinegar	a quarter cup (60 g)	0.38 cup (90 g)	67%
pineapple juice	three quarters of a cup (188 g)	three quarters of a cup (187 g)	50%
vegetable oil	0.53 quart (463 g)	0.27 quart (235 g)	33%
garlic	2 clove (6 g)	1.3 clove (4 g)	33%
salt	0.17 teaspoon (1 g)	0.08 teaspoon (0 g)	33%
white sugar	a quarter cup (50 g)	0.19 cup (38 g)	33%

Ingredients by Average Weight in Sweet Sour

We also found the average content of the significant ingredients by weight in sweet sour recipes. This would be: 24% pineapple juice, 21% brown sugar, 17% ketchup, 11% vegetable oil, 8% white vinegar, 7% soy sauce, 4% cornstarch, 3% white sugar, 2% flour, 1% eggs and 1% pineapple.

Here are the top ingredients, listed in order of popularity.

cornstarch

Cornstarch is the most popular ingredient in sweet sour dishes. In fact, over 85% of sweet sour recipes contain cornstarch.

Cornstarch is often included in sweet sour dishes in amounts of 2 tablespoons.

In sweet sour recipes that contain cornstarch, it is on average, 3% by weight.

For sweet sour recipes, cornstarch is frequently used with soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, white vinegar and pineapple juice.

soy sauce

Another popular ingredient in sweet sour is soy sauce. From the recipes we've sampled for sweet sour, over 85% have soy sauce.

Soy sauce is often included in sweet sour dishes in amounts of 1 tablespoon or 2 tablespoons.

In sweet sour recipes that contain soy sauce, it is on average, 5% by weight.

In recipes for sweet sour, soy sauce is often used with brown sugar, ketchup, cornstarch, white vinegar and pineapple juice.

ketchup

Ketchup is another common ingredient in sweet sour dishes. In fact, over 70% of sweet sour recipes contain ketchup.

In sweet sour recipes that contain ketchup, it is on average, 15% by weight.

Soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, white vinegar and vegetable oil are commonly used together with ketchup in sweet sour dishes.

oil

Another popular ingredient in sweet sour is oil. From the recipes we've sampled for sweet sour, over 70% have oil.

Variations of oil include:

• vegetable oil: 43% of recipes

For sweet sour recipes, oil is frequently used with cornstarch, ketchup, white vinegar, white sugar and soy sauce. However, vegetable oil, salt, eggs, white pepper and garlic are almost never used together with oil in sweet sour dishes.

vegetable oil

Another popular ingredient in sweet sour is vegetable oil. From the recipes we've sampled for sweet sour, over 40% have vegetable oil.

In sweet sour recipes that contain vegetable oil, it is on average, 17% by weight.

Salt, brown sugar, pineapple, soy sauce and ketchup are commonly used together with vegetable oil in sweet sour dishes.

brown sugar

Brown sugar is another common ingredient in sweet sour dishes. In fact, over 70% of sweet sour recipes contain brown sugar.

Sweet sour dishes often call for brown sugar to be packed.

Brown sugar is often included in sweet sour dishes in amounts of half a cup.

In sweet sour recipes that contain brown sugar, it is on average, 18% by weight.

In recipes for sweet sour, brown sugar is often used with soy sauce, ketchup, cornstarch, white vinegar and vegetable oil.

white vinegar

Another popular ingredient in sweet sour is white vinegar. From the recipes we've sampled for sweet sour, over 70% have white vinegar.

In sweet sour recipes that contain white vinegar, it is on average, 7% by weight.

Soy sauce, cornstarch, white sugar, brown sugar and ketchup are commonly used together with white vinegar in sweet sour dishes.

pineapple

Pineapple is another common ingredient in sweet sour dishes. In fact, over 55% of sweet sour recipes contain pineapple.

Variations of pineapple include:

• pineapple juice: 43% of recipes

For sweet sour recipes, pineapple is frequently used with cornstarch, salt, white pepper, vegetable oil and chicken breast.

pineapple juice

Another popular ingredient in sweet sour is pineapple juice. From the recipes we've sampled for sweet sour, over 40% have pineapple juice.

In sweet sour recipes that contain pineapple juice, it is on average, 37% by weight.

For sweet sour recipes, pineapple juice is frequently used with soy sauce, cornstarch, brown sugar, white vinegar and ketchup. However, eggs, flour and chicken breast are almost never used together with pineapple juice in sweet sour dishes.

salt

Another popular ingredient in sweet sour is salt. From the recipes we've sampled for sweet sour, over 40% have salt.

In sweet sour recipes that contain salt, it is on average, 0% by weight.

In recipes for sweet sour, salt is often used with vegetable oil, brown sugar, pineapple, soy sauce and ketchup.

white sugar

White sugar is another common ingredient in sweet sour dishes. In fact, over 40% of sweet sour recipes contain white sugar.

In sweet sour recipes that contain white sugar, it is on average, 5% by weight.

White vinegar, cornstarch, chicken breast, flour and oil are commonly used together with white sugar in sweet sour dishes. Conversely, white sugar is not often used with garlic.

pepper

Pepper is another common ingredient in sweet sour dishes. In fact, over 40% of sweet sour recipes contain pepper.

Variations of pepper include:

• white pepper: 29% of recipes
• black pepper: 14% of recipes

In recipes for sweet sour, pepper is often used with vegetable oil, white pepper, salt, garlic, brown sugar, cornstarch, chicken thighs deboned, soy sauce and ketchup.

white pepper

Another popular ingredient in sweet sour is white pepper. From the recipes we've sampled for sweet sour, over 25% have white pepper.

Sweet sour dishes often call for white pepper to be ground.

In sweet sour recipes that contain white pepper, it is on average, 0% by weight.

In recipes for sweet sour, white pepper is often used with cornstarch, pineapple, salt, vegetable oil and chicken breast.

eggs

Eggs is another common ingredient in sweet sour dishes. In fact, over 25% of sweet sour recipes contain eggs.

Eggs is often included in sweet sour dishes in amounts of 1 eggs.

In sweet sour recipes that contain eggs, it is on average, 3% by weight.

For sweet sour recipes, eggs is frequently used with white vinegar, salt, vegetable oil, chicken breast and brown sugar. However, pineapple juice is almost never used together with eggs in sweet sour dishes.

flour

Flour is another common ingredient in sweet sour dishes. In fact, over 25% of sweet sour recipes contain flour.

In sweet sour recipes that contain flour, it is on average, 5% by weight.

Chicken breast, white sugar, white vinegar, cornstarch and brown sugar are commonly used together with flour in sweet sour dishes. Conversely, flour is not often used with pineapple juice and garlic.

Other sweet sour Ingredients

Other significant ingredients used in sweet sour recipes include:

• chicken breast - 25%
• garlic - 25%

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