Name: Tuna Fish, Mushrooms and Celery
Ingredients: 6 1/2 oz (2) cans tuna chunk-style; -packed in water; 3 tbsp all-purpose flour; 2 cup water at room temperature; 3 tbsp margarine; 1/2 cup instant dry milk; 1 cup thinly sliced celery; 1/2 tsp salt; 4 oz (1)cn mushroom stems pieces; -drained; whisper of pepper

Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

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 + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Celery + mushroomtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,006 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together13,580 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk + mushroomtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,231 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Tuna: Provides the main protein and flaked meaty body to the casserole.
Flour: Thickens the liquid into a smooth sauce as it cooks with the fat and water.
Margarine: Provides fat that cooks the vegetables and carries flavor through the sauce.
Instant dry milk: Adds milk solids that enrich the sauce and help it turn creamy and smooth.
Celery: Softens as it cooks, adding moisture and a mild crisp-tender texture.
Mushrooms: Adds savory, earthy flavor and moisture to the sauce.

The step that matters

Add the flour and cook until dissolved. Flour must be cooked in the fat before liquid is added, or the sauce can turn lumpy; stirring until it dissolves lets the starch hydrate evenly and thicken smoothly.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, milk, mushroom, pepper):

Thymefits better
Marjoramfits better
Turmericfits better
Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, milk, mushroom, pepper. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

Tuna Fish, Mushrooms and Celery