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Salad

Celery Seed Dressing

A sweet and tangy dressing made with sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard, onion, oil, and celery seed.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Mustard and celery 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 ↓

Celery Seed Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine first five ingredients.

  2. Add oil slowly.

  3. Beat with electric mixer until thick.

  4. Stir in celery seed.

  5. Refrigerate.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

224Calories
2 gProtein
14 gFat
24 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Celery Seed1 stalk (40g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Saladnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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. Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,259 recipes

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

  3. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Vinegar + oniontop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,226 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the vinegar.
Vinegar
Provides acidity that gives the dressing its tang and helps keep it stable.
Salad oil
Supplies fat that, when beaten in slowly, forms an emulsion and thickens the dressing.
Dry mustard
Acts as an emulsifier that helps hold the oil and vinegar together.

The step that matters

Add oil slowly. Oil added too quickly while beating can fail to emulsify, leaving the dressing separated and thin instead of thick and creamy. Mustard helps bind the oil into the vinegar mixture when it is added gradually.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, vinegar, mustard, celery):

  1. Horseradishfits better
  2. Lettucefits better
  3. Radishfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, vinegar, mustard, celery. 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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