Name: Celery Slaw
Ingredients: 2 bunches celery, finely chopped; ½ head cabbage, chopped; 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped; 1 teaspoon prepared mustard; 1 teaspoon sugar; 2 tablespoons melted butter; salt to taste; pepper to taste; vinegar to taste

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 ↓

Celery Slaw

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Finely chop the celery and chop the cabbage.

Make the dressing

In a bowl, combine the chopped eggs, mustard, sugar, melted butter, salt, pepper, and vinegar.

Combine and serve

Mix the dressing with the chopped celery and cabbage 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.

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).
Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,645 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,081 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Celery + cabbagetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,840 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Celery: Provides the crisp, fresh bulk and crunch that gives the slaw its texture.
Cabbage: Adds further crunch and body, holding up well against the dressing.
Hard boiled eggs: Chopped into the dressing, they add richness and a creamy body.
Melted butter: Adds fat and richness to the dressing, giving it a smoother mouthfeel.
Prepared mustard: Contributes sharp, pungent flavour that cuts through the richness of the eggs and butter.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the sweetness and richness.

Swap the celery

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

Tarragonfits better
Dillfits better
Capersfits better
Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, egg, mustard, sugar, butter, pepper, vinegar. 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.