What The Heck Is Smettanick?

The Joseph Joseph Worktop Saver, USA Gastronomy Map is “made in the United Kingdom by Joseph Joseph, masters of form and function,” according to the product description. It goes on to say that what you are seeing is a “12-inch by 16-inch worktop saver; made of toughened glass; heat resistant to 536-degree F.”

What it doesn’t say is what the heck Smettanick is.

There you see it, up at the top of Montana: Smettanick. Turns out, this caught the eye of many back in 2011.

According to a nifty little write up in the Seattle Weekly about this very design (by a British designer), Smettanick is a Russian sour-cream cake whose preferred spelling is “smetannik.” (Check out a recipe for smetannik here.) As for its popularity in Montana? Only Montanans know. However, the map is not a total loss: the inclusion of “ultimate buffets” in Nevada is not much of a head-scratcher, although it’s probably a good guess that Nevadans eat more than pine nuts and casino buffets.