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Salad

Salmon Salad

A salad made with flaked canned salmon, cucumber, celery, mustard, sugar, salt, pepper, melted butter, eggs, milk, and vinegar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Salmon Salad

Why it works: Celery and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Salmon Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Flake the salmon and mix it with the diced cucumber and finely chopped celery.

  2. In a bowl, combine the mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Make the dressing

  1. Moisten the dry ingredients with hot water, then add the melted butter, beaten eggs, and milk.

  2. Stir in the vinegar.

  3. Set the bowl in a pan of boiling water and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened like custard.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Cucumber + mustardtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,281 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Cucumber + celerytop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,745 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Thicken the dressing as they set into a custard when heated.
Butter
Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the dressing.
Milk or cream
Adds moisture and richness, helping the dressing become smooth and creamy.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the richness.
Salmon
Provides the main protein and flavour of the salad.

The step that matters

Cook the dressing in a water bath, stirring constantly. Eggs set into a custard at moderate heat but can curdle or scramble if overheated. Constant stirring over gentle boiling water spreads the heat evenly and keeps the mixture smooth as it thickens.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, cucumber, mustard, sugar, pepper, butter, egg):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Dillfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, cucumber, mustard, sugar, pepper, butter, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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