The Answer
Viennese bread (Wienerbrød)
I have to admit, I thought the answer to this might be just pastries. After all, it’s probably safe to say that the Chinese call Chinese food just food, and the French call French bread simply bread.
It turns out that the Danes actually have a name for what we call a danish, and that is Viennese bread (wienerbrød). So, they must call it Wienerbrød in Vienna, right? Nope. According to Wikipedia, the Viennese call them “Kopenhagener Plunder, referring to Copenhagen, or Dänischer Plunder“.
Huh?
It feels like we’re in a bit of an infinite loop here. How does that work? The Danes name their pastry after Austria and the Austrians name it after Denmark.
Danish pastries are not really Danish! In Denmark, these world-famous sticky delights are called Vienna Bread (wienerbrød), as they were first made in Denmark in the 1840s by Austrian bakers. Still, Danish pastries rose in popularity over the centuries and are now a firm favourite of ordinary Danes.
Okay, so it’s Austrians in Denmark, making it in some ways both Danish and Austrian. Whatever you call them, Danish pastries are yummy, and I look forward to my next wienerbrød.