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 ↓
Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
Beat the eggs until smooth.
Add vinegar, butter (or olive oil), mustard, sugar, and black pepper to the eggs.
Place the mixture in a kettle over medium heat and stir constantly until it thickens.
Once cooled, add another ½ cup of strong vinegar.
Assemble the salad
Chop the chicken and celery to your desired size and sprinkle with salt.
Pour the dressing over the chicken and celery, mixing well just before serving.
Reserve some dressing to pour over the top 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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Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,169 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Pepper + celerytop 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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Mustard + chickentop 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
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they set with heat and emulsify the fat into a creamy base.
- Butter or olive oil
- Adds richness and a smooth mouthfeel to the dressing.
- Strong vinegar
- Provides sharp acidity that balances the richness of the eggs and fat.
- Mixed mustard
- Adds sharpness and helps stabilise the emulsion of the dressing.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that softens the vinegar's sharpness.
The step that matters
Stirring the dressing over medium heat. The egg mixture must be stirred constantly, because eggs can curdle or scramble if they overheat or sit still. Stopping when it thickens keeps the dressing smooth and creamy.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar, butter, mustard, sugar, pepper, chicken):
- Tarragonfits better
- Capersfits better
- Dillfits about as well
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar, butter, mustard, sugar, pepper, chicken. 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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