During the start of the Middle Ages, thin slabs of coarse bread called "trenches" (late 15th century English) or, in its French derivative, "trenchers", were used as plates.

[clarification needed] It has given rise to some controversy in the philosophy of language study of meaning underdetermination after a judge had to consider whether a burrito was a sandwich for the purposes of enforcing an exclusive use clause in an American legal case.

Common ingredients for open sandwiches are jam, stuffed olives, chopped herbs, cream cheese, hard-boiled eggs and pimiento.

[10] An open sandwich is a slice of fresh bread or, e.g. in Germany, a bread roll half, with different spreads,[11] 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, fish such as smoked salmon, gravadlax, herring, eel and prawns, and vegetables like bell pepper, tomato, radish, scallion and cucumber.

[citation needed] Open sandwiches like this are consumed in France, Belgium, Denmark,[12] Norway,[13] Sweden,[14] Finland, Estonia, Austria, Germany,[15][16] the Czech Republic,[17] Hungary,[18] the Netherlands,[19] Poland and Bulgaria as well as other parts of Europe, and North America as a regular breakfast and supper food item.

obložený chlebíček) - slantways cut slice of veka (long narrow white bread) spread with butter or with various combinations of mayonnaise salads and hard boiled egg, cheese, ham, salami, smoked fish (salmon or sprats or pickled herring), tomato, pickled cucumber, lettuce, raw onion or other vegetable, etc.

This is typically complemented by some herbs and vegetables such as parsley, cold salad, thinly sliced cucumber, tomato wedges or pickled beets, etc.

Sweet toppings are commonly used for breakfast in the Netherlands and Belgium: e.g. sprinkles, vlokken, or muisjes, next to the more widespread peanut butter, honey, jam, and chocolate spread.