Name: Shrimp Salad
Ingredients: 1 can shrimp; 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped fine; 1 cup chopped celery; ½ cup cucumber pickle, chopped fine; mayonnaise dressing; white pepper; salt to taste; 1 teaspoon prepared mustard (French mustard)

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 ↓

Shrimp Salad

Ingredients

Directions

In a bowl, combine the shrimp, chopped eggs, chopped celery, and chopped cucumber pickle.
Mix in mayonnaise dressing until well combined.
Season with white pepper and salt to taste.
Add prepared mustard and mix well.

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.

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.

Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,169 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Cucumber + mustardtop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,281 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Celery + cucumbertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,745 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Shrimp + mustardtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together491 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
Celery + white peppertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together853 recipes

Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

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

What each ingredient does

Shrimp: Forms the main body of the salad and provides its protein-rich bulk and flavor.
Hard boiled eggs: Add creamy richness and soft texture that blends into the dressing.
Celery: Adds crisp texture and a fresh, mild crunch against the soft shrimp and eggs.
Mayonnaise dressing: Provides fat and moisture that binds the salad and carries the seasonings.
Cucumber pickle: Adds acidity and tang that brightens the rich dressing and eggs.
Prepared mustard: Adds sharp, pungent flavor and some acidity that balances the mayonnaise.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shrimp, egg, celery, cucumber, mustard):

Capersfits better
Dillfits better
Tarragonfits better
White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against shrimp, egg, celery, cucumber, mustard. 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.