Why it works: Tomato and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,377 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Original Nebraska Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the vegetables
Peel, seed, and finely chop the cucumber.
Mince the celery.
Put the cucumber and minced celery in an earthenware dish and sprinkle with a scant teaspoon of salt.
Scald and peel the tomatoes.
Chill the cucumber, celery, and tomatoes on ice.
Fill the tomatoes
Cut the tomatoes into halves, remove seeds and pulp, leaving the firm flesh.
Line a glass dish with the halved tomatoes.
Squeeze all the liquid from the celery and cucumbers and mix with them with a teaspoon each of white pepper and celery seed.
Stuff the tomato halves with the cucumber and celery mixture, leaving a small space in the center.
Pour a spoonful of salad dressing over each tomato.
Add the cabbage and serve
While the tomatoes chill, finely chop the cabbage, mince a few sprigs of parsley, and finely chop a cup of blanched almonds.
Put the cabbage, parsley, and almonds into a dish; toss with the remaining dressing and combine with the tomatoes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Broccoli | 1 cup chopped (156g) | 55 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Salad Dressing | not in our table | 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.
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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Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,377 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Celery + cabbagetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,840 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Tomato + cabbagetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together333 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes (in the method)
- Form the edible shell that holds the filling and adds juicy acidity.
- Cucumber (in the method)
- Adds crisp, watery texture to the stuffing.
- Celery
- Adds crunch and a fresh, savory bite to the filling.
- Cabbage
- Adds crisp, sturdy texture that holds up under the dressing.
- Blanched almonds (in the method)
- Add crunch and a mild, nutty richness.
The step that matters
Squeeze all the liquid from the celery and cucumbers. Excess moisture from salted cucumber and celery would dilute the dressing and make the tomato halves soggy, so draining well keeps the filling firm and the flavors concentrated.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, celery):
- Carrotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Okrafits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, celery. 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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