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Chicken Salad

A salad of chopped chicken and celery dressed with a mixture of eggs, butter, vinegar, mustard, sugar, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Vehling, Joseph Dommers, 1879-1950. fmo · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Chicken Salad

Why it works: Vinegar and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Chicken Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dressing

  1. Combine nine eggs, one teacupful of strong vinegar, one half pound butter, one teacupful olive oil, four tablespoonfuls mixed mustard, two tablespoonfuls sugar, and one teaspoonful black pepper.

  2. Beat the eggs until smooth, then add the other ingredients.

  3. Place the mixture in a kettle over the fire, stirring constantly, and cook until it becomes almost a mush.

  4. When the mixture is cold, add one half teacupful of strong vinegar.

Assemble and serve

  1. Chop the chicken and celery into any size you wish, and sprinkle with salt to taste.

  2. Pour the dressing over the salad, mix well just before serving, reserving some dressing to pour over the top.

  3. This dressing will be beneficial for a medium turkey or three chickens.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

400Calories
38 gProtein
21 gFat
14 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 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.

By Vehling, Joseph Dommers, 1879-1950. fmo. 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.

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.

  1. Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Mustard + chickentop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,192 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).

  3. Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Butter + chickentop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,902 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  5. Tea + chickentop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together145 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Their proteins set during cooking, thickening the dressing and binding it together.
Butter
Adds richness and a smooth, creamy mouthfeel to the dressing.
Mixed mustard
Its emulsifiers help hold the fats and liquids together in the dressing.
Vinegar
Adds sharp acidity that cuts through the richness of the eggs and butter.
Sugar
Balances the sharpness of the vinegar and mustard with a touch of sweetness.
Olive oil (in the method)
Adds fat that gives the dressing a silkier body and helps it coat the chicken.

The step that matters

Cooking the egg mixture over the fire. Egg proteins set with heat, so cooking too fast or without constant stirring can scramble the eggs and leave lumps. Gentle heat and steady stirring let the mixture thicken smoothly into a mush-like dressing.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, tea, vinegar, sugar, chicken):

  1. Capsicumfits about as well
  2. Potatofits about as well
  3. Mustardthe original
  4. Asparagusfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, tea, vinegar, sugar, 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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