Name: Waldorf Salad II
Ingredients: ¼ cup light mayonnaise; ¼ cup light or regular plain yogurt or fat-free sour cream; 2 teaspoons sugar; ¾ teaspoon lemon juice; 3 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (about 3 cups); 1 cup thinly sliced celery; ⅓ cup walnut pieces (or coarsely chopped walnuts); ⅓ cup dried fruit like raisins, cherries, or cranberries (optional)

Why it works: Lemon and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,467 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Waldorf Salad II

Ingredients

¼ cup light mayonnaise
¼ cup light or regular plain yogurt or fat-free sour cream
2 teaspoons sugar
¾ teaspoon lemon juice
3 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (about 3 cups)
1 cup thinly sliced celery
⅓ cup walnut pieces (or coarsely chopped walnuts)
⅓ cup dried fruit like raisins, cherries, or cranberries (optional)

Directions

Make the dressing

Add mayonnaise, yogurt or sour cream, sugar and lemon juice to serving bowl and whisk well to blend.

Assemble and chill

Add apple pieces, celery, walnuts and dried fruit if desired and toss everything together.
Cover and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

515Calories

27 gProtein

10 gFat

88 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Cherry	1 cup (138g)	87
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Walnut	1 walnut half (4g)	26
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Fruit	not in our table	0

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.

Lemon + celerytop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,467 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Celery + walnuttop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together852 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Lemon + walnuttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,149 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Apple + celerytop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,155 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Walnut + raisintop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together647 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

What each ingredient does

Apples: Provide the crisp, juicy bulk of the salad and its fresh, slightly tart flavour.
Mayonnaise: Forms the creamy base of the dressing and adds richness and moisture.
Yogurt or sour cream: Adds tang and moisture, lightening the dressing's richness.
Walnuts: Add crunch and a toasty, nutty flavour that contrasts the soft apples.
Celery: Adds crisp texture and a fresh, mildly vegetal note.

Swap the raisin

The recipe marks raisin as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (yogurt, sugar, lemon, apple, celery, walnut):

Figfits better
Pearfits better
Orangefits better
Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against yogurt, sugar, lemon, apple, celery, walnut. 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.