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Salad

Spanish Pepper Salad

A chilled salad of celery, pecans, and pimentos set in a gelatinous dressing.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and mustard 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 ↓

Spanish Pepper Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Make the salad

  1. Dissolve one-half box gelatin in one-half cup cold water and one-half cup vinegar.

  2. Add one-half cup sugar, juice one lemon, one scant teaspoon salt, and one cup boiling water.

  3. Mix with six canned pimentos cut up fine, two cups celery cut fine, and one cup shelled chopped pecans.

Serve

  1. Mould small portions and serve on lettuce leaf with dressing.

Make the dressing

  1. Prepare dressing by whisking one teaspoon dry mustard, yolks of two eggs, two tablespoons olive oil, three tablespoons vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

466Calories
10 gProtein
40 gFat
22 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
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pecans1 oz (28g / ~19 halves)196
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot 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.

By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog]. 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.

  1. Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Celery + lemontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,467 recipes

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

  3. Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Olive + lemontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,922 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  5. Mustard + olivetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,950 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

What each ingredient does

Gelatin
Sets the mixture so it holds its shape when molded and served.
Eggs
Egg yolks emulsify with the oil and vinegar, giving the dressing a smooth, thick body.
Olive oil
Adds fat that softens the sharpness of the vinegar and gives the dressing richness.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that balances the sugar and lemon and brightens the flavor.
Celery
Provides crisp texture that contrasts with the soft, set gelatin.
Pecans
Adds crunch and a toasty, nutty flavor throughout the salad.

The step that matters

Fully dissolve the gelatin before adding the other ingredients. Gelatin must dissolve completely in the warm liquid to set evenly. Undissolved granules leave soft spots or lumps and can keep the salad from firming properly when chilled.

Swap the pecans

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

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Sesamefits better
  3. Lentilsfits better
  4. Pecansthe original

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