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BBQ Sauce Scout

BBQ Sauce Database: Nutrition, Flavor and Ratings CSV

A hand-built, label-verified database of 310 BBQ sauces from 49 brands: sodium, sugar, carbs and calories per serving and per 100 g, 0-5 heat/smoke/sweetness scales, diet claims, pairings, and web-consensus ratings. One row per sauce, free CSV download, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated 2026-07-07 · 310 sauces · 49 brands · 8 regional styles · one row per sauce

Download CSV (310 rows) Also on Kaggle License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Every sauce was profiled from its physical label and from a synthesis of public reviews, so the set combines hard nutrition facts with subjective flavor and reception in one tidy table - the kind of structured comparison that does not exist anywhere else for this category. The same file is published on Kaggle; this page is the canonical source and always carries the current version.

Each row links back to its sauce page via source_url, where the label photo, full ingredient list, and review sources are auditable. How the data is collected and verified is documented on the methodology page.

Data dictionary

Coverage is the share of the 310 rows with a value in that column, computed from the current file at build time. Empty cells are genuine missing data, not zeros. For nutrition work, filter to has_nutrition = True first - the missing-nutrition tail is structural (products without published US label data), not incomplete transcription.

Column Type Coverage Description
name string 100% Sauce name as printed on the label.
brand string 100% Brand display name (e.g. "Killer Hogs").
style category 100% Regional style: kansas-city, carolina-mustard, carolina-vinegar, alabama-white, texas, japanese, korean, or general.
heat int 0-5 100% Spiciness, 0 (none) to 5 (very hot). Subjective scale, consistently applied.
smoke int 0-5 100% Smokiness, 0 to 5.
sweetness int 0-5 100% Sweetness, 0 to 5.
rating float 0-5 75% Web-consensus rating synthesized from public reviews. Blank where reviews were only qualitative (see caveat 2).
rating_sentiment category 100% positive or mixed, from the same synthesis.
opinion_count int 100% Number of distinct web reviews synthesized (0 where none were found).
has_nutrition bool 100% True when the row carries at least one label nutrition field. Filter on this for nutrition analyses: within the has_nutrition = True subset the nutrition columns are 94-99% filled. The False rows (mostly Japanese imports and small craft brands with no published US label data) remain in the dataset because their style, rating, and pairing columns are still complete.
serving_size string 68% Label serving, e.g. "1 tbsp (17 g)". The basis of the per-serving nutrition columns.
calories int 69% Calories per serving.
sodium_mg int 70% Sodium (mg) per serving.
total_sugars_g float 68% Total sugars (g) per serving.
total_carbs_g float 71% Total carbohydrates (g) per serving.
serving_g float 68% Serving weight in grams, parsed from serving_size. Blank where the label states no resolvable weight.
serving_g_estimated bool 68% True where serving_g was converted from a volume-only serving (ml, tbsp, cup) at 1.14 g/ml instead of a printed weight.
calories_per_100g int 67% Calories per 100 g, derived as calories * 100 / serving_g. Use the *_per_100g columns to compare sauces; the per-serving columns are only comparable within one serving size.
sodium_mg_per_100g int 66% Sodium (mg) per 100 g.
total_sugars_g_per_100g float 65% Total sugars (g) per 100 g.
total_carbs_g_per_100g float 67% Total carbohydrates (g) per 100 g.
diet_tags string 52% Pipe-joined claims, e.g. keto|sugar-free. Vocabulary: gluten-free, keto, low-carb, no-hfcs, non-gmo, organic, paleo, sugar-free, vegan, whole30. Blank means no claim was found on the label or listing, NOT that no tag applies.
pairings string 97% Pipe-joined suggested pairings, e.g. ribs|pulled-pork. Vocabulary: beef, burgers, chicken, marinade, pork, pulled-pork, ribs, seafood, vegetables, wings.
gtin string 50% Barcode (GTIN/UPC) where captured. Join key to OpenFoodFacts, USDA FoodData Central, and other product datasets.
source_url string 100% Canonical page for this sauce on bbqsaucescout.com, with full label data and review detail.

Caveats - read before analysing

  1. Per-serving nutrition is not directly comparable across sauces. Serving sizes differ (1 tbsp vs 2 tbsp; 17 g vs 34 g). Use the *_per_100g columns for cross-sauce comparison: they normalise each label's values by its parsed serving weight (serving_g). Rows with serving_g_estimated = True used a density conversion (1.14 g/ml) because the label stated only a volume; treat those as approximate.
  2. rating is a synthesised web consensus, gated on numeric backing. It is built from public reviews across retailers, forums, and social sources - not a lab measurement and not a first-party star average. Where the available reviews were only qualitative, rating is left blank rather than inventing a number; rating_sentiment still captures the direction.
  3. Review text is intentionally excluded. Only derived signals (rating, rating_sentiment, opinion_count) are published. The underlying third-party quotes are not redistributed here; they are visible with their sources on each source_url page.
  4. Nutrition is transcribed from the physical label and verified against a second source where possible. Where the label was not readable, values come from Open Food Facts or USDA FoodData Central (manufacturer-submitted label data). It can lag reformulations. Always defer to the current bottle for dietary decisions.

License and citation

The dataset is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0): free to use, including commercially, with attribution; derivative datasets must carry the same license.

Cite as: BBQ Sauce Scout, BBQ Sauce Database (CC BY-SA 4.0), https://bbqsaucescout.com

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