Name: Chicken Salad
Ingredients: 6 quarts cooked chicken, chopped; 1 quart mayonnaise; 1 quart celery, chopped; 1 quart grapes, halved; Salt and pepper to taste

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 ↓

Chicken Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Make the salad

In a large bowl, combine the chopped chicken, mayonnaise, celery, and grapes.
Mix well until all ingredients are evenly coated.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chill and serve

Chill in the refrigerator 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.

Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Grape + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,909 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Celery + grapetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together627 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Chicken + grapetop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together819 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Chicken + celerytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,375 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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 bulk and meaty structure of the salad.
Mayonnaise: Adds moisture and richness, binding the chicken, celery, and grapes together.
Celery: Adds crisp texture that contrasts with the soft chicken.
Grapes: Add sweetness and juicy bursts that balance the rich mayonnaise.