Why it works: Miso and ham work together. They rank in the top 49% of all ingredient pairs. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
The recipe
1 sandwichIngredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat, soy (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Toasted bread is already prepared, so set both slices out on a plate.
In a small bowl, stir the miso paste into the mayonnaise until smooth. If using, stir in the wasabi paste (optional) to taste.
Spread the miso mayonnaise evenly over one slice of toast.
Warm the ham slices in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute, turning once, until heated through.
Lay the warm ham, Cheddar cheese slice and lettuce leaf on the spread toast, then top with the second slice of toast and cut if desired.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Miso + hamtop 49% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together0 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Bread + hamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Miso + wasabitop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together8 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Wheat + breadtop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together196 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Miso + lettucetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together11 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the wasabi
The recipe marks wasabi as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (wheat, bread, miso, ham, lettuce, cheddar cheese):
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Asparagusbetter flavor fit
- Wasabithe original
Fit is the average pairing score against wheat, bread, miso, ham, lettuce, cheddar cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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