Name: Salmon Salad
Ingredients: 1 can of salmon; 1 stalk of celery, chopped; ½ cup of English walnuts, chopped; mayonnaise dressing to taste

Why it works: Celery and walnut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 852 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓

Salmon Salad

Ingredients

1 can of salmon
1 stalk of celery, chopped
½ cup of English walnuts, chopped
mayonnaise dressing to taste

Directions

Drain the salmon and flake it into a bowl.
Add the chopped celery and walnuts.
Mix in mayonnaise dressing until well combined.

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.

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.

Celery + walnuttop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together852 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Salmon + walnuttop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together144 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Salmon + celerytop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together658 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Salmon: Provides the main protein and flaky texture of the salad.
Mayonnaise dressing: Adds moisture and richness that bind the salad together.
Celery: Contributes crisp texture that contrasts with the soft salmon.
English walnuts: Add crunch and a mild nutty flavor.