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
Make the dressing
Mix the mustard and oil until smooth.
Add the egg yolks, vinegar, cayenne pepper, and salt to the mustard mixture.
Assemble and serve
Chop the celery finely and mix it with the chicken pieces.
Pour the dressing over the chicken and celery, mixing thoroughly.
Set the salad 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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Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 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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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Chicken + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,192 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Their fat and emulsifying lecithin help bind the oil and vinegar into a smooth, creamy dressing.
- Mixed mustard
- Its emulsifiers help hold the oil and vinegar together and add sharp flavour.
- Oil
- Provides fat that gives the dressing richness and a smooth, coating texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil and yolks.
- Celery
- Adds crisp texture and a fresh, mildly savoury crunch against the soft chicken.
The step that matters
Pour the dressing over the chicken and celery, mixing thoroughly. The dressing must be evenly distributed so every piece is coated; uneven mixing leaves dry patches and overly rich clumps of egg yolk paste.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, egg, vinegar, mustard, pepper):
- Tarragonfits better
- Dillfits better
- Capersfits about as well
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, egg, vinegar, mustard, 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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