Open sandwich

Open sandwich

Smørbrød, smørrebrød or smörgås, a Scandinavian open sandwich at a cafeteria in Norway
Alternative names	Open face sandwich, open faced sandwich, bread baser, tartine, bread platter
Type	Sandwich
Main ingredients	Bread, topping
Variations	Many variations exist

An open sandwich, also known as an open face/faced sandwich, bread baser,bread platter or tartine consists of a single slice of bread with one or more food items on top.

During the Middle Ages, thin slabs of coarse bread called "trenches" (late 15th century English) or, in its French derivative, "trenchers", were used as plates. At the end of the meal, the food-soaked trencher was eaten by the diner (from which we get the expression "trencherman"), or perhaps fed to a dog or saved for beggars. Trenchers were as much the harbingers of open face sandwiches as they were of disposable crockery.

A direct precursor to the English sandwich may be found in the Netherlands of the 17th century, where the naturalist John Ray observed that in the taverns beef hung from the rafters "which they cut into thin slices and eat with bread and butter laying the slices upon the butter". These explanatory specifications reveal the Dutch belegd broodje, open-faced sandwich, was as yet unfamiliar in England.

An open sandwich is a slice of fresh bread, with different spreads, butter, liver pâté, cheese spreads, cold cuts such as roast beef, turkey, ham, bacon, salami, beef tongue, mortadella, head cheese or sausages like beerwurst or kabanos, and vegetables like bell peppers, tomatoes, radish, scallion and cucumber.

Open sandwiches like this are consumed in France, Denmark,Norway,Sweden,Austria and Germany, the Czech Republic,Hungary, the Netherlands,Poland as well as other parts of Europe, and North America as a regular breakfast and supper food item. The American tongue toast is offered as an entrée for breakfast, lunch, and supper and as an hors d'œuvre for formal parties.