Why it works: Chicken and pork match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,417 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓
Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the meat from the boiled chickens, avoiding chopping.
Chop the celery hearts and add to the chicken.
If available, add some cold roast pork.
Combine and dress
Add the drained capers and chopped olives.
Mix everything with mayonnaise dressing.
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.
-
Chicken + porktop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,417 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Capers + olivetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,688 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Celery + caperstop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together405 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Chicken + olivetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,888 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid hexyl ester (sweet, green).
-
Celery + olivetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,667 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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.
- Celery hearts
- Adds crisp texture and a fresh, mildly sharp crunch.
- Capers
- Contribute a sharp, briny acidity that brightens the rich dressing.
- Olives
- Add salty, savoury flavour and a firmer bite.
- Mayonnaise dressing
- Adds fat and moisture that binds the salad and coats the other ingredients.
The step that matters
Cut the meat from the boiled chickens, avoiding chopping.. Pulling meat into larger pieces rather than chopping it finely keeps the texture tender and distinct instead of mushy. Shredded or torn meat holds dressing better and looks more appealing in the finished salad.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, meat, pork, capers, olive):
- Garlicfits better
- Thymefits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, meat, pork, capers, olive. 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.
More chicken salad recipes
You might also like
Chicken Broth257 recipes
Chicken Soup156 recipes
Cream of Celery Soup113 recipes
Pork Cake107 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.