Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Cabbage and Celery Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the cabbage and celery.
Season with pepper, salt, and sugar, then pack into serving dishes.
Make the dressing and serve
In a bowl, beat together the sweet cream, vinegar, and beaten egg.
Pour the mixture over the cabbage.
Let it sit until the vinegar settles, leaving a creamy foam on top.
Garnish with celery tops before serving.
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.
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Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Cabbage + peppertop 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).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cabbage + vinegartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,924 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
- Cabbage
- Forms the bulk of the salad and holds its crisp texture under the dressing.
- Sweet cream
- Adds richness and a creamy body to the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and works with the cream.
- Beaten egg
- Helps thicken and emulsify the dressing so it clings to the vegetables.
- Celery
- Adds crunch and a fresh, savoury flavour.
The step that matters
Beating the cream, vinegar, and egg together. The cream and vinegar must be combined smoothly with the beaten egg so the dressing thickens and stays creamy rather than splitting. Pouring in the mixture gently keeps the foam light.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, pepper, sugar, cream, vinegar, egg):
- Mustardfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against celery, pepper, sugar, cream, vinegar, egg. 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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