Name: Salmon Salad
Ingredients: 6 hard boiled eggs; 1 small can salmon; 2 cups finely chopped celery; salad dressing

Why it works: Egg and salmon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,485 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

Salmon Salad

Ingredients

6 hard boiled eggs
1 small can salmon
2 cups finely chopped celery
salad dressing

Directions

Chop the hard boiled eggs and place them in a bowl.
Add the salmon and finely chopped celery.
Mix with salad dressing just before serving.

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.

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.

Egg + salmontop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,485 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Salmon + celerytop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together658 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Egg + celerytop 34% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,334 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

Hard boiled eggs: Provide soft, creamy body and bulk to the salad.
Salmon: Supplies the main protein and flavor, with flakes that hold the mixture together.
Celery: Adds crisp texture and a fresh, mild crunch against the soft ingredients.
Salad dressing: Adds moisture, tang and sweetness that bind the salad and season it.