# The Robot Cookbook — Ingredient Overlap & Shopping-Basket Analysis

_Auto-generated by `analysis/analyze.js` from `recipes.json`._

**132 recipes** · **747 distinct raw ingredient strings** collapsed to **554 canonical shopping ingredients** (free/ubiquitous items like water & ice are excluded from baskets).

> The big question: *"buy the fewest ingredients, cook the most recipes."* Short answer below, receipts underneath.

---

## 1. Pantry staples — what shows up everywhere

The most common ingredients, and how many recipes each one appears in (a proxy for how many it helps unlock):

| # | Ingredient | Recipes | % of book |
|---|------------|--------:|----------:|
| 1 | salt | 61 | 46% |
| 2 | butter | 34 | 26% |
| 3 | black pepper | 33 | 25% |
| 4 | egg | 33 | 25% |
| 5 | garlic | 33 | 25% |
| 6 | oil | 26 | 20% |
| 7 | onion | 24 | 18% |
| 8 | olive oil | 21 | 16% |
| 9 | sugar | 19 | 14% |
| 10 | soy sauce | 18 | 14% |
| 11 | green onion | 17 | 13% |
| 12 | flour | 16 | 12% |
| 13 | mayonnaise | 15 | 11% |
| 14 | brown sugar | 14 | 11% |
| 15 | ginger | 12 | 9% |
| 16 | sesame oil | 11 | 8% |
| 17 | bacon | 10 | 8% |
| 18 | garlic powder | 10 | 8% |
| 19 | heavy cream | 10 | 8% |
| 20 | parsley | 10 | 8% |
| 21 | carrot | 9 | 7% |
| 22 | ground beef | 9 | 7% |
| 23 | sesame seed | 9 | 7% |
| 24 | thyme | 9 | 7% |
| 25 | cheese | 8 | 6% |
| 26 | chicken stock | 8 | 6% |
| 27 | chive | 8 | 6% |
| 28 | lemon juice | 8 | 6% |
| 29 | tomato | 8 | 6% |
| 30 | honey | 7 | 5% |

The top **8** of these (salt, butter, black pepper, egg, garlic, oil, onion, olive oil) each appear in 20+ recipes. These are your "assumed pantry" — stuff you almost certainly already own. The analysis below treats them as background and clusters recipes by the *distinctive* ingredients that actually differentiate them.

---

## 2. Core pantry — the smallest basket that fully unlocks the most recipes

Greedy [set-cover](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_cover_problem): starting from nothing, repeatedly add the single ingredient that lets you *fully* make the most additional recipes (a recipe counts only when you have **every** ingredient it needs). Each row is one ingredient added:

| Basket size | Ingredient added | New recipes unlocked | Total fully-makeable |
|------------:|------------------|---------------------:|---------------------:|
| 1 | garlic | +1 | 1 |
| 2 | oil | +1 | 2 |
| 3 | bacon | +1 | 3 |
| 4 | reese s peanut butter cup | +1 | 4 |
| 7 | cabbage | +1 | 5 |
| 10 | sugar | +1 | 6 |
| 11 | mayonnaise | +1 | 7 |
| 12 | strawberry top | +1 | 8 |
| 23 | yogurt | +1 | 9 |
| 26 | rotisserie chicken | +1 | 10 |
| 30 | cucumber | +1 | 11 |
| 35 | mustard | +1 | 12 |
| 37 | secret spice blend | +1 | 13 |
| 42 | gochujang | +1 | 14 |
| 45 | baking soda | +1 | 15 |

- **10 ingredients → 6 recipes fully makeable** (5% of the book).
- **15 ingredients → 8 recipes fully makeable** (6% of the book).
- **25 ingredients → 9 recipes fully makeable** (7% of the book).
- **35 ingredients → 12 recipes fully makeable** (9% of the book).

Set-cover is strict (you need *100%* of a recipe). The more useful real-world view is "how close am I?" — with a basket of the top-K most common staples, how many recipes are fully covered vs. missing just 1–2 ingredients:

| Top-K staples basket | Fully makeable | Missing only 1 | Missing only 2 |
|---------------------:|---------------:|---------------:|---------------:|
| 10 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| 15 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 20 | 5 | 4 | 13 |
| 25 | 5 | 6 | 15 |
| 30 | 5 | 8 | 15 |
| 40 | 7 | 11 | 15 |

_Translation: a modest pantry gets a lot of recipes to "one quick shop away."_

---

## 3. Natural recipe clusters — how many real "shopping worlds" exist

Grouping by ingredient similarity ([Jaccard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaccard_index) on each recipe's *distinctive* ingredients, connected components). First, how cluster structure changes with the similarity threshold:

| Similarity ≥ | Multi-recipe clusters | Recipes clustered | Lone recipes |
|-------------:|----------------------:|------------------:|-------------:|
| 0.5 | 2 | 4 | 128 |
| 0.4 | 2 | 4 | 128 |
| 0.3 | 5 | 12 | 120 |
| 0.25 | 10 | 28 | 104 |
| 0.2 | 15 | 59 | 73 |
| 0.15 | 8 | 80 | 52 |

At our working threshold (**Jaccard ≥ 0.18**) the book settles into **15 natural clusters** holding **69 recipes**, with 63 one-off recipes that don't share enough with anything else.

**So is it really "3–4 subsets"?** Roughly, yes — once you roll the clusters up by theme. The recipes that group at all live in a small number of *shopping worlds*:

- **East-Asian / umami** — ~20 recipes
- **Creamy sauces & dressings** — ~16 recipes
- **Roasts & braises** — ~11 recipes
- **Other / specialised** — ~10 recipes
- **Baking & desserts** — ~5 recipes
- **American comfort / burgers** — ~4 recipes
- **Fried & crispy** — ~3 recipes

The single biggest cluster (**20 recipes**, East-Asian / umami — soy sauce + green onion + sugar) is by far the dominant world. After that it's a few mid-size groups and a long tail of one-offs — which is exactly what you'd expect from a bookmark folder spanning many cuisines. The takeaway: nail the **East-Asian / umami** pantry and you cover the largest slice of the book in one shop.

### Cluster 1: East-Asian / umami — soy sauce + green onion + sugar  ·  20 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** soy sauce (13), green onion (10)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- 3 More Things I've Learned Working in Restaurants — _Ryan Dinein_
- Air Fryer Orange Tofu & Vegetables (4 Recipe Compilation) — _Mike G (Pro Home Cooks)_
- Cheesy Potato Pockets
- Cook Your Chicken Thighs Like This
- Crispy Baked Egg Rolls — _Maxi's Kitchen_
- Crispy Potato Stick Fries — _(recipe from pinned uploader comment)_
- Easy Pineapple Sorbet
- Fried Tofu
- Garlic Seasoned Potatoes (Chewy Potato Recipe) — _Delicious Day (delicious_day)_
- Homemade Strawberry Syrup from Strawberry Tops
- Instant Ramen Cubes (Meal Prep) — _Mike G_
- Korean Japchae (Vietnamese-style) — _MyHealthyDish (recipe from uploader comment)_
- Making soda with pine needles and sugar water
- Marinated Soft-Boiled Eggs with Rice and Kimchi — _Dietitian (channel unknown)_
- …and 6 more

### Cluster 2: Creamy sauces & dressings — mayonnaise + bread  ·  7 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** mayonnaise (4)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Anthony Bourdain's Viral Mortadella Sandwich — _Anthony Bourdain_
- Egg and Caramelized Onion Rice (Zach Choi Shorts) — _Zach Choi_
- Gourmet Bologna, Cheese, and Egg Sandwich
- Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Kenji's Version & Deb's Frico Version) — _Kenji López-Alt (Serious Eats)_
- Microwave Omelette — _José Andrés_
- Ringo Starr's Favorite Sandwich
- Soğan Dolması (Turkish Stuffed Onions)

### Cluster 3: Roasts & braises — thyme + chicken stock + rosemary  ·  5 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** thyme (5), salt (4), butter (4), chicken stock (4), black pepper (4), olive oil (3), garlic (3), rosemary (3)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Fermented Pickles (No Vinegar) — _Dish by David_
- Fondant Potatoes — _Sam the Cooking Guy_
- Michelin Braised Lamb Shank — _Unknown Chef_
- Michelin Mac and Cheese at Home — _Heston Blumenthal (The Hinds Head)_
- Mussels Recipe with Roasted Shallot and Garlic White Wine Broth — _Billy Parisi_

### Cluster 4: Creamy sauces & dressings — sugar + heavy cream + flour  ·  5 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** butter (4), sugar (4), heavy cream (4), egg (4), salt (3), oil (3), flour (3)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Butter Chicken with Garlic Naan — _Future Canoe (reviews)_
- Michelin French Toast at Home — _Hélène Darroze (3 Michelin star chef)_
- Peanut Chocolate Layered Dessert
- This might be better than pizza (Turkish Pide)
- Very Easy Chocolate Cremeux Dessert

### Cluster 5: Baking & desserts — sugar + chocolate + cornstarch  ·  5 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** sugar (3), chocolate (3)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- A Late Night Snack You'll Actually Make
- Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
- Supposedly The BEST Choco Chip Cookie — _BuzzFeed Tasty_
- Turkish Delight — _Dished Shorts_
- Viral Date Snickers Bar

### Cluster 6: American comfort / burgers — brown sugar + ground beef + black coffee  ·  4 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** brown sugar (4), onion (3), salt (3), black pepper (3), ground beef (3), black coffee (2), yellow mustard (2), american cheese (2), egg (2), ketchup (2), worcestershire sauce (2)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Beef Bacon Jam Smashburger
- Peanut Butter Smashburger with Strawberry Bacon Jam
- Smoked Meatloaf
- Sweet Glazed Katsu Musubi — _GetSmash Kitchen_

### Cluster 7: bacon + cheese  ·  4 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** bacon (4), cheese (2)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Air Fryer Bacon Egg and Cheese Rice Paper Rolls — _Chef Out West_
- Bacon-Wrapped Manicotti with Ground Beef and Cheese
- Spaghetti with Creamy Mushroom and Bacon Sauce
- The Best Way to Put Bacon on Burgers — _Adventures of a Fat Guy_

### Cluster 8: Roasts & braises — garlic powder + paprika + thyme  ·  4 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** salt (4), black pepper (4), garlic powder (4), paprika (4), olive oil (2), thyme (2), kale (2), cinnamon (2), cayenne pepper (2), ground turkey (2), onion powder (2), cumin (2)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Baked Fruit & Veggie Chips 4 Ways — _Tasty_
- New York's famous garbage plate — _Onur_
- The Breakfast Burrito that CHANGED My Life | Meal Prep — _Ethan Paff_
- Turkey Chili Tacos

### Cluster 9: Fried & crispy — garlic powder + honey + mayonnaise  ·  3 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** garlic powder (3), black pepper (3), honey (2), mayonnaise (2), onion powder (2), flour (2), salt (2)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- All-Purpose Chipotle Honey Pineapple Sauce — _Jose_
- Bang Bang Chicken
- Oven-Roasted Chicken Over Rice with Homemade Gravy

### Cluster 10: honey + brown sugar  ·  2 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** butter (2), honey (2), brown sugar (2), sandwich bread (1), vanilla extract (1), salt (1), pork belly (1), bbq seasoning (1), hot honey sauce (1)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Honey Butter Toast
- Hot Honey Pork Belly Burnt Ends — _Grill Nation_

### Cluster 11: Creamy sauces & dressings — heavy cream  ·  2 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** heavy cream (2), philadelphia cream cheese (1), biscoff spread (1), biscoff cookie crunch (1), yogurt (1)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Biscoff No-Bake Cheesecake in 2 Minutes
- How Butter Used To Be Made — _dishbydavid_

### Cluster 12: ginger + chili + spinach  ·  2 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** ginger (2), chili (2), salt (2), spinach (2), shallot (1), garlic (1), cilantro (1), lime peel (1), olive oil (1), coconut cream (1), chickpea (1), legume (1)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Chickpea Curry
- Legume Pancakes (Ban Chila)

### Cluster 13: white pepper + chive  ·  2 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** white pepper (2), chive (2), egg (1), ricotta cheese (1), white cheddar (1), corn starch (1), cured bacon (1), boiling water (1), crab meat (1), avocado (1), lemon juice (1), salt (1)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Egg Bites
- Marco Pierre White's Avocado Crab — _Marco Pierre White_

### Cluster 14: Roasts & braises — thyme + parmesan cheese + parsley  ·  2 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** butter (2), thyme (2), black pepper (2), parmesan cheese (2), parsley (2), salt (2), short rib (1), pappardelle pasta (1), olive oil (1), carrot (1), onion (1), red pepper flakes (1)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Beef Ragu — _That Dude Can Cook_
- Potato Stacks with Garlic Herb Butter — _Sonia (Salt N Pepper Here)_

### Cluster 15: Creamy sauces & dressings — heavy cream + mayonnaise + english mustard  ·  2 recipes

**Shared shopping list:** butter (2), egg (2), heavy cream (2), salt (2), mayonnaise (2), english mustard (2), maple syrup (2), chive (2), smoked paprika (2), caramelized onion (2), hash brown (2), kaiser roll (1)

Recipes you can knock out from roughly one shop:
- Finding my perfect breakfast sandwich
- Quick and Easy Breakfast Sandwich (Air Fryer Version)

---

## 4. Cook-together picks — one shop, several dishes

Greedy bundles of three recipes chosen to maximise overlapping ingredients (weighting distinctive shared items so we are not just matching on salt):

**Bundle 1** — buy ~61 ingredients total, make 3 dishes:
- Cook Your Chicken Thighs Like This
- Crispy Baked Egg Rolls — _Maxi's Kitchen_
- Ultimate Costco Meal Prep — _Dooby Dobap_
  - _Shared across all three:_ salt, garlic, ginger, sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, green onion

**Bundle 2** — buy ~49 ingredients total, make 3 dishes:
- Butter Chicken with Garlic Naan — _Future Canoe (reviews)_
- The 5 Sauces Every Chef Needs to Learn — _Will (channel name not specified)_
- This might be better than pizza (Turkish Pide)
  - _Shared across all three:_ salt, butter, onion, tomato, paprika, flour, parsley

**Bundle 3** — buy ~29 ingredients total, make 3 dishes:
- Fondant Potatoes — _Sam the Cooking Guy_
- Michelin Braised Lamb Shank — _Unknown Chef_
- Michelin Mac and Cheese at Home — _Heston Blumenthal (The Hinds Head)_
  - _Shared across all three:_ butter, thyme, rosemary, chicken stock, salt, black pepper

**Bundle 4** — buy ~56 ingredients total, make 3 dishes:
- Healthy & Easy Asian Meal Prep (20 meals!) — _doobydobap_
- Korean Japchae (Vietnamese-style) — _MyHealthyDish (recipe from uploader comment)_
- Restaurant-Style Meal Prep - Component Assembly Method — _KWOOWK_
  - _Shared across all three:_ onion, green onion, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil

**Bundle 5** — buy ~30 ingredients total, make 3 dishes:
- Fried Tofu
- Marinated Soft-Boiled Eggs with Rice and Kimchi — _Dietitian (channel unknown)_
- Why Japan's 600-Year-Old Breakfast Still Works Better Than Ours — _Dan Martin_
  - _Shared across all three:_ soy sauce, green onion, sesame seed

**Bundle 6** — buy ~32 ingredients total, make 3 dishes:
- Baked Fruit & Veggie Chips 4 Ways — _Tasty_
- New York's famous garbage plate — _Onur_
- The Breakfast Burrito that CHANGED My Life | Meal Prep — _Ethan Paff_
  - _Shared across all three:_ salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika

---

## How to regenerate

```bash
node analysis/analyze.js
```
Outputs: this report, `normalized_ingredients.json` (raw→canonical mapping, inspectable), and `clusters.json` (drives the graph colours in `visualize.html`).