Why it works: Chicken and veal are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,243 recipes. Both carry 3-butanedione, which smells buttery, creamy. The science ↓
Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Shred the cooked chickens and veal into bite-sized pieces.
Chop the celery into small pieces.
Combine and serve
In a large bowl, combine the chicken, veal, and celery.
Add the salad dressing and mix well until everything is coated.
Serve chilled.
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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Chicken + vealtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,243 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-butanedione (buttery, creamy).
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Chicken + celerytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,375 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Veal + celerytop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,336 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cooked chicken
- Provides the main protein and bulk of the salad.
- Cooked veal
- Adds a second meat, contributing savory flavor and body to the salad.
- Celery
- Adds crisp texture and a fresh, mildly vegetal crunch.
- Salad dressing
- Coats the pieces and supplies moisture, fat and flavor that bind the salad.
The step that matters
Add the salad dressing and mix well until everything is coated. Dressing added unevenly leaves some pieces dry and others oversaturated. Thorough mixing spreads the fat and moisture evenly so every bite tastes the same.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, veal):
- Garlicfits better
- Celerythe original
- Thymefits about as well
- Tarragonfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, veal. 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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