Smørrebrød dates back to the 19th century. It began when bread was used to wipe the plates clean of any remaining food, eventually the food was placed on the bread instead as topping.
This type is called "stjerneskud" (shooting star).
In 1850 Danish bakers went on strike, so the bakery owners hired foreign workers from Austria to replace them. The Austrians brought their own recipes, which became very popular, and when the strike ended the pastries continued to be made as "Vienna bread" or wienerbrød.
Smørrebrød is a daily staple for many Danes, and a truly classic taste of the nation’s traditional cuisine. Invariably based on rye bread smørrebrød can have an almost limitless number of different toppings, although smoked salmon should always be served on white bread.
Open sandwiches are part of the traditional Danish lunch. The vet's midnight snack ("dyrlægens natmad") is a classic made of liver paste, salt meat, jelly and onions on rye bread.
The Copenhageners love to go for brunch in weekends. People of all ages flock to the cafés, to indulge themselves in scrambled eggs, mini sausages, Danish bacon, fresh fruit and delicious pancakes.
Hotdogs and hotdog stands are popular almost everywhere, but the concept of sausage and bread is something more to the Danes. It is something to be found on almost any major street or "torv" in Denmark. The "pølsevogn" is much larger than a typical North American hotdog cart and more like an outdoor mobile kitchen along the lines on an imbiss in Germany.