Name: Celery and Cream Cheese Salad
Ingredients: one-half cup very fine chopped celery; one-half teaspoon salt; one-fourth teaspoon pepper; four tablespoons olive oil; one cream cheese; two table- spoons vinegar; cayenne

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 ↓

Celery and Cream Cheese Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Mix one-half cup very fine chopped celery with one cream cheese (Neufchatel).
Make into small balls, arrange in lettuce leaves.

Dress and serve

French Dressing: Mix one-half teaspoon salt, one-fourth teaspoon pepper, two tablespoons vinegar, four tablespoons olive oil.
Pour over a French dressing.
Sprinkle with cayenne and garnish with sliced radishes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

239Calories

2 gProtein

24 gFat

5 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Cayenne	1 tsp (1.8g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	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 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. See the original page.

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 + olivetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,667 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,297 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Pepper + olivetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,263 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,814 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Cream cheese: Forms the creamy, rich body that holds the celery and gives the balls their texture.
Celery: Adds crisp texture and fresh flavor that contrasts with the soft cheese.
Olive oil: Provides fat in the French dressing, carrying flavor and giving a smooth mouthfeel.
Vinegar: Adds acidity to the French dressing, balancing the richness of the oil and cheese.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, olive, cream cheese, vinegar):

Dillfits better
Garlicfits better
Basilfits better
Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, olive, cream cheese, vinegar. 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.