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
Prepare
Remove the meat from the boiled chickens and chop it finely.
Make the dressing
In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, table oil, vinegar, mixed mustard, cayenne pepper, and salt.
Assemble and serve
Mix the chopped chicken with the finely chopped cabbage and optional celery.
Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture and toss to combine.
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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Mustard + cabbagetop 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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Pepper + cabbagetop 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
- Hard-boiled egg yolks
- Emulsify with the oil and mustard to make a thick, creamy dressing.
- Table oil
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour and giving the dressing body.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the rich yolks and oil.
- Mixed mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps hold the emulsified dressing together.
- Boiled chicken
- Forms the main protein base, finely chopped so it absorbs the dressing.
- Cabbage
- Adds crisp texture and bulk that contrasts with the soft chicken.
The step that matters
Dressing the chicken. The dressing should be fully combined before it is poured over the chicken so it coats evenly. Tossing thoroughly spreads the emulsion through the cabbage and chicken, keeping the salad moist without pooling.
Swap the celery
The recipe marks celery as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, egg, vinegar, mustard, pepper, cabbage):
- Tarragonfits better
- Dillfits better
- Garlicfits about as well
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, egg, vinegar, mustard, pepper, cabbage. 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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