Why it works: Celery and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,667 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓
Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the chicken
Boil the chicken in salted water until tender.
Remove from heat and let the chicken cool in the stock.
Prepare and assemble
Cut the chicken into ½ inch pieces.
Chop the celery into ⅓ inch pieces.
Chop the olives into small pieces.
Mix the chicken, celery, and olives with plenty of mayonnaise dressing before serving.
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 + 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
- Hen
- Provides the main body and meaty texture of the salad.
- Blanched celery
- Adds crisp texture and a fresh, mild crunch against the soft chicken.
- Olives
- Adds a briny, salty flavor that contrasts with the rich dressing.
- Mayonnaise dressing
- Adds moisture and richness and binds the chicken, celery, and olives together.
The step that matters
Let the chicken cool in the stock. Cooling the chicken slowly in its cooking liquid lets the meat reabsorb moisture as it cools, so it stays juicy rather than drying out. Pulling it out to cool quickly can leave it tough and dry.
“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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