It's Actually Pretty Hard To Find A McDonald's Sweet 'N Sour Sauce Copycat
Fast-food lovers can't get enough of McDonald's Sweet 'N Sour Sauce — a wonderful accompaniment to the chain's McNuggets, fries, burgers, and anything else on its menu. The devotion to this sauce is so strong that McDonald's customers are clamoring to get their hands on the stuff outside of the restaurant, which has proven to be a difficult task. As McDonald's former manager of culinary innovation, Mike Haracz is just the guy to provide insight into the special ingredients that make McDonald's menu items so memorable.
According to a recent TikTok clip, Haracz believes that Ken's Sweet N' Sour Sauce is the closest thing you can find on the market. Both sauces contain similar ingredients and offer a similar flavor profile, which is sure to make McDonald's fans happy. However, these sauces are still not an exact match, according to Haracz. That's because Ken's Sweet N' Sour Sauce, as well as other sweet and sour sauces available in the U.S., lack certain key ingredients that are found in the McDonald's version.
Why is McDonald's Sweet 'N Sour Sauce so tasty?
Mike Haracz singles out some very special ingredients that are found in McDonald's Sweet 'N Sour Sauce. He believes the sauce derives its signature flavor from the inclusion of sherry wine powder and purée concentrates of apple and peach. Conversely, he states that many of the "Americanized" versions of sweet and sour sauce use pineapple in place of the apple and peach purée.
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A review of the ingredients included in Ken's Sweet 'N Sour Sauce shows that it does indeed contain apricot concentrate. However, it is lacking the sherry, which is known for its notes of dried fruit and earthy savoriness. As explained by Haracz, this is still about as close as you can get with a copycat version of the sauce. Fortunately, Haracz has a few helpful tips on how to elevate the store-bought sauce to fast food perfection.
How can you make your own sweet and sour sauce at home?
If you're not satisfied with Ken's Sweet 'N Sour Sauce on its own, Haracz has a few suggestions on how to get the flavors closer to the real thing. Simply take the Ken's sauce and incorporate apricot or peach preserves. When adding the fruit preserves to the sauce, it's best to do so in small increments to avoid overdoing it. Be sure to taste your custom creation before adding more preserves to determine whether the flavor profile is right.
Haracz also recommends adding "a drop or two of sherry wine" to really get the flavor right. Keep in mind that the McDonald's recipe uses sherry wine powder, but there shouldn't be a flavor difference between the standard sherry wine and the powdered version. The powder is simply the dehydrated version of sherry and is typically used for the sake of convenience. While it's not quite as easy as walking into a store and taking a bottle of sauce from the shelf, Haracz's recipe hack is a worthy contender for this cherished McDonald's condiment.