Name: Chicken Salad Sandwich
Ingredients: equal proportions of cooked chicken, finely chopped; equal proportions of celery, finely chopped; mayonnaise dressing; plain bread

Why it works: Chicken and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,258 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity. The science ↓

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Ingredients

equal proportions of cooked chicken, finely chopped
equal proportions of celery, finely chopped
mayonnaise dressing
plain bread

Directions

Finely chop equal amounts of cooked chicken and celery.
Mix the chicken and celery with mayonnaise dressing.
Spread the mixture between slices of plain bread.

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.

Chicken + breadtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,258 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity).
Chicken + celerytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,375 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Celery + breadtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,110 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).