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
Prepare
Combine the white meat and second joints of the boiled chickens in a bowl.
Add the chopped celery and chopped egg whites.
Dress and chill
In a separate bowl, mix the mashed egg yolks with salad oil, melted butter, coarse sea salt, vinegar, and mixed mustard until smooth.
Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture and mix thoroughly.
Chill in a cool place until ready to serve.
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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Mustard + cabbagetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Celery + cabbagetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,840 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Meat + chickentop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,449 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Boiled chicken
- Provides the main body and meaty texture of the salad.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Add richness and body, with the mashed yolks thickening the dressing.
- Salad oil
- Adds fat and smoothness, carrying the flavour through the dressing.
- Celery
- Adds crisp texture and a fresh, mild vegetal bite.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the fat.
- Mixed mustard
- Adds sharpness and emulsifying help that keeps the dressing smooth.
The step that matters
Mixing the dressing until smooth. Mashed yolks must be fully blended with the oil, butter and mustard; otherwise the fat separates and the dressing becomes greasy and lumpy rather than creamy.
Swap the celery
The recipe marks celery as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, chicken, egg, butter, vinegar, mustard, cabbage):
- Tarragonfits better
- Capersfits better
- Garlicfits about as well
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, chicken, egg, butter, vinegar, mustard, cabbage. 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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