Why it works: Mustard and celery 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 ↓
Cold Slaw
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop or shred the cabbage.
In a bowl, mix the oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, sugar, and pepper.
Dress and serve
Pour the dressing over the cabbage.
Add minced celery if desired.
Toss well and transfer to a glass bowl.
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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Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,169 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + celerytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Cabbage
- Forms the bulk and crisp texture of the slaw.
- Oil
- Adds fat and a smooth, coating mouthfeel to the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that brightens the flavour and softens the cabbage slightly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Prepared mustard
- Adds sharpness and helps bind the oil and vinegar into a more uniform dressing.
The step that matters
Toss well. Tossing thoroughly spreads the dressing evenly over every piece of cabbage. Acid and salt slowly draw water from the cabbage and soften it, so uneven coating leaves some pieces bland and others limp.
Swap the celery
The recipe marks celery as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, vinegar, mustard, sugar, pepper):
- Tarragonfits better
- Dillfits about as well
- Allspicefits about as well
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, vinegar, mustard, sugar, pepper. 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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