Name: Tuna Fish
Ingredients: 1 (25-cent) can tuna fish; 2 cups finely chopped celery; 2 small onions, chopped or grated; salad dressing to taste

Why it works: Celery and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,518 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Tuna Fish

Ingredients

1 (25-cent) can tuna fish
2 cups finely chopped celery
2 small onions, chopped or grated
salad dressing to taste

Directions

Drain the tuna fish and place it in a mixing bowl.
Add the finely chopped celery and chopped or grated onions.
Mix everything together with salad dressing until well combined.

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.

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 + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Fish + oniontop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,924 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Fish + celerytop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together353 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tuna fish: Provides the main protein and flaky body of the salad.
Celery: Adds crisp texture and fresh, mild crunch against the soft tuna.
Onions: Contributes sharp aroma and savory bite that cuts through the richness.
Salad dressing: Binds the ingredients together and adds moisture and fat for a creamy texture.