Name: Polynesian Chicken Salad I
Ingredients: 2 cups cooked chicken, cut in small pieces; 1½ cups diced celery; 1½ cups diced canned pineapple or white seedless grapes; ¼ cup shredded carrot; ½ cup toasted almond halves; ½ cup mayonnaise; ½ cup sour cream; 1 tsp curry powder; 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice; ½ tsp salt; salad greens; minced parsley

Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. 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.

Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,053 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,037 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,810 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Celery + lemontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,467 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken: Provides the main protein and bulk of the salad.
Mayonnaise: Adds fat and creaminess, binding the salad together with moisture.
Sour cream: Adds tang and extra creaminess to the dressing.
Celery: Contributes crisp texture that holds up in the dressing.
Pineapple or grapes: Adds sweetness and juiciness that balances the rich dressing.
Almonds: Add crunch and a toasted, nutty flavour.

The step that matters

Chill thoroughly. Chilling lets the dressing firm up and the flavours of the curry and lemon blend into the chicken. Serving it warm or under-chilled makes the mayonnaise and sour cream dressing loose and greasy.

Swap the pineapple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, celery, carrot, almond, cream, lemon, parsley):

Limefits better
Avocadofits better
Orangefits better
Pineapplethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, celery, carrot, almond, cream, lemon, parsley. 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
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Pineapple	1 cup chunks (165g)	82
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Turmeric	1 tsp ground (3g)	9
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Salad	not in our table	0

Polynesian Chicken Salad I