Name: Salmon Salad
Ingredients: 1 can red salmon; 2 boiled potatoes; 1 small Bermuda onion; 2 tablespoons chopped chives; Salad dressing

Why it works: Potato and chive work together. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 611 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

Salmon Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Slice the boiled potatoes.
Place a layer of potatoes in a salad dish.
Dot liberally with flaked salmon.
Spread a layer of salad dressing over the salmon.
Add another layer of potatoes and a layer of salmon.
Finish with a generous amount of dressing and sprinkle chopped chives on top. Do not mix.

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.

Potato + chivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together611 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Onion + chivetop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,907 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Salmon + chivetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together343 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Salmon + potatotop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together952 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

What each ingredient does

Red salmon: Provides the main protein and flavour, flaked into layers through the salad.
Boiled potatoes: Form the starchy base layers that give the salad body and bulk.
Salad dressing: Adds moisture and richness, coating the salmon and potatoes between layers.
Chives: Add a mild onion-like aroma and fresh flavour to the finished top layer.