Why it works: Celery and cabbage are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,840 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Mix
Add the chicken or turkey to a bowl.
Add the yolks of fifteen eggs, one pint of strong vinegar, one pound of butter, sixteen teaspoons of mustard, one large spoonful of black and red pepper, and one tablespoonful of salt.
Beat the eggs smooth, as for cake.
Stir all the ingredients together well.
Cook the dressing
Set the bowl in boiling water, stirring all the time after it gets hot.
When it is thick, take it off and add half a pint of vinegar.
Optional substitute
If you cannot get celery, use one cabbage and about two ounces of celery seed.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Broccoli | 1 cup chopped (156g) | 55 |
| Celery Seed | 1 stalk (40g) | 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.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
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Celery + cabbagetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,840 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Vinegar + cabbagetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,924 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Celery + chickentop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,375 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Butter + chickentop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Celery + vinegartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,627 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
- Egg yolks (in the method)
- Thicken the dressing as they heat, giving it a smooth, creamy body.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the richness.
- Chickens
- Forms the main body of the salad, carrying the dressing.
- Celery seed
- Adds a warm, aromatic flavour characteristic of celery.
The step that matters
Heating the bowl in boiling water. Egg yolks thicken as they warm but can curdle or scramble if they get too hot. Stirring constantly spreads the heat evenly so the mixture thickens smoothly.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, celery, vinegar, chicken):
- Mustardfits better
- Onionfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, celery, vinegar, chicken. 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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