Why it works: Celery and mustard 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
Cut the white and dark meat of the chicken into small bits, the size of peas.
Chop the celery nearly as small as the chicken.
Make the dressing
In a bowl, rub the yolks of the hard boiled eggs smooth.
Add the mustard, coarse sea salt, oil, and vinegar to the yolks and mix well.
Combine and serve
Combine the chicken and celery in a large bowl and pour the dressing over it, adding a little cream.
Serve immediately after adding the dressing.
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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Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,169 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Meat + chickentop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,449 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Chicken + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,192 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
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Meat + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together855 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
- Chicken
- Provides the main body and bulk of the salad.
- Hard boiled egg yolks
- Rubbed smooth, they form a creamy base that binds the dressing.
- Mustard
- Adds sharpness that balances the richness of the yolks and oil.
- Oil
- Adds fat and smoothness, helping the yolks emulsify into the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and cuts the richness.
- Celery
- Adds crunch and a fresh, mild flavour to the salad.
The step that matters
Serve immediately after adding the dressing. Acidic vinegar and moisture from the dressing and cream will soften the celery and can thin the creamy texture over time, so the salad is best served right away.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, chicken, egg, mustard, vinegar, cream):
- Tarragonfits better
- Capersfits better
- Garlicfits about as well
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, chicken, egg, mustard, vinegar, cream. 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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