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Chicken Salad

A salad of boiled chicken, celery, eggs, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and cayenne, dressed with mayonnaise.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 18 ingredients
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Chicken Salad

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 ↓

Chicken Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the chicken and celery

  1. Boil the chicken until tender, then remove all fat, gristle, and skin.

  2. Mince the meat into small pieces, but do not hash it.

  3. Add twice the weight of the chicken in celery, cut into pieces about one-quarter inch.

  4. Mix the chicken and celery thoroughly and set aside in a cool place (ice chest).

Dress and serve

  1. Prepare a mayonnaise dressing.

  2. When ready, pour the dressing over the chicken and celery, tossing and mixing thoroughly.

  3. Set the salad in a cool place until ready to serve.

  4. Garnish with celery tips, cold hard-boiled eggs, lettuce leaves, cold boiled beets, capers, or olives.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

455Calories
45 gProtein
27 gFat
7 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Eggs1 large egg (50g)78
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
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 F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

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

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

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

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

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken
Forms the main body of the salad, providing the bulk of its texture and protein.
Celery
Adds crisp texture and fresh, mild flavour that contrasts with the soft chicken.
Mustard
Adds sharp, pungent flavour that cuts through the richness of the dressing.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances its richness.

Swap the celery

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

  1. Tarragonfits better
  2. Capersfits better
  3. Dillfits about as well
  4. Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, butter, pepper, vinegar, chicken, 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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