How is it that mixing standard supermarket honey and traditional barbecue sauce results in a sauce that is thinner than either of the inputs?

Question

Both of those products are pretty thick/sticky by themselves but together create something that behaves much more ‘watery’.

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

The BBQ sauce has a thickener in it. Diluting that makes the sauce less viscous. Then the sugar of the honey dissolves into the water of the sauce, so the honey loses cohesion too.

Some thickeners are pH-sensitive. If you add something sour to them, they liquefy. Doesn’t apply to the honey issue, but one more example why things can behave in odd ways. Their properties only hold up under certain conditions, disturb the balance, and they fall apart.