Why it works: Cider and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓
Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the chicken
Boil the chickens until very tender, then remove the bones and tough skin.
Chop the chicken meat finely.
Make the dressing
Boil the eggs hard, peel them while hot, and mash the yolks in a bowl with 1 cup of cider vinegar.
Add another cup of cider vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, black pepper, and melted butter or olive oil to the yolks.
Adjust mustard and sugar to taste.
Combine and finish
In a large bowl, combine the chopped chicken and celery with the dressing.
Chop the egg whites finely and add them if desired.
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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Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,431 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Chicken + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,192 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
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Cider + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,414 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chickens
- Provide the main meat, which is cooked until tender and then chopped.
- Eggs
- Egg yolks mash into a creamy base that thickens and enriches the dressing.
- Cider vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the richness of the yolks.
- English mustard
- Adds sharp, pungent flavour that cuts through the richness of the dressing.
- Butter or olive oil
- Adds fat that gives the dressing a smooth, rich mouthfeel.
- Celery
- Adds crunch and a fresh, slightly savoury bite to the salad.
The step that matters
Mash the yolks with vinegar before adding the rest. Mashing the yolks with vinegar first breaks them down into a smooth, even base. Adding the fat and other liquids to unmashed yolks can leave lumps and an uneven, greasy dressing.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, egg, cider, vinegar, sugar, pepper, butter):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Potatofits less well
- Cucumberfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, egg, cider, vinegar, sugar, pepper, butter. 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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