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
Make the dressing
Mix the chicken and celery together and cover until the dressing is made.
Mash the yolks into a paste and mix them well with the other ingredients.
Pour the dressing over the chicken and celery and mix well with a silver fork.
Garnish and serve
Garnish the dish with the egg whites and lettuce leaves, cutting the whites into scallops or as desired.
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.
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Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,169 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Chicken + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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 and bulk of the salad.
- Egg yolks
- Their fat and lecithin help bind the oil and seasonings into a smooth, creamy dressing.
- Sweet oil
- Supplies fat for moisture, richness and a silky mouthfeel.
- Made mustard
- Its natural emulsifiers help hold the oil and yolks together, adding sharpness.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil and yolks.
- Celery
- Adds crisp texture and a fresh, mild flavour to the chicken.
The step that matters
Mashing the yolks into a paste before mixing. Yolks must be smoothed fully and blended with the mustard and oil so the fat stays emulsified. If the paste is lumpy or the mixture separates, the dressing turns greasy and uneven on the chicken.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, egg, pepper, mustard, vinegar):
- Tarragonfits better
- Dillfits better
- Capersfits about as well
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, egg, pepper, mustard, 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.
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