Name: Shrimp Salad
Ingredients: 1 pound shrimp; 1 head celery; Salt to taste; Pepper to taste; Salad dressing; Lettuce leaves; Mayonnaise

Why it works: Celery and lettuce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,033 recipes. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓

Shrimp Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Cut the shrimp into pieces about half an inch in size.
Chop the celery.

Combine and serve

Combine shrimp and celery in a bowl.
Season with salt and pepper.
Moisten with salad dressing.
Serve on lettuce leaves topped with mayonnaise.

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.

Celery + lettucetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,033 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Pepper + lettucetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,037 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Shrimp + lettucetop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together430 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Shrimp + celerytop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together812 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Shrimp: Provides the main protein and the bulk of the salad.
Celery: Adds crunch and fresh moisture that contrasts with the soft shrimp.
Salad dressing: Moistens the mixture and adds tang and flavor to bind the ingredients.
Mayonnaise: Adds richness and a creamy texture that coats the shrimp and celery.