Name: Salmon Salad
Ingredients: 1 can of fresh salmon; 4 bunches of celery; salad dressing; lettuce or celery tops for garnish

Why it works: Celery and lettuce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,033 recipes. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓

Salmon Salad

Ingredients

1 can of fresh salmon
4 bunches of celery
salad dressing
lettuce or celery tops for garnish

Directions

Make the salad

Chop the celery as you would for chicken salad.
Mix the chopped celery with the salmon.
Pour salad dressing over the mixture.

Garnish and serve

Garnish with lettuce or celery tops.

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.

Celery + lettucetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,033 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Salmon + lettucetop 24% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together487 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Salmon + celerytop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together658 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Salmon: Forms the main body of the salad, providing flaked protein and a rich, savory flavor.
Celery: Adds crisp texture and fresh moisture that contrasts with the soft fish.
Salad dressing: Coats the salmon and celery, adding moisture, tang and flavor that binds the salad together.