In 1976, a reporter named Jules Lowe gave some advice to people from the South who were visiting New York for a big political event. He mentioned that New Yorkers have a unique way of speaking and eating. For breakfast, they enjoy something called a bagel, which he described as tough to chew and even harder to explain. At that time, bagels were becoming popular across the U.S., moving from a local favorite to a common breakfast choice. By 2020, most Americans had tried bagels, with the average person eating nearly 39 bagels a year!
The bagel’s rise to fame wasn’t quick or easy. Its journey was as winding as the lines at a bagel shop on a Sunday morning. Let’s dive into its history! People have been shaping dough into rings for centuries. This shape is practical because it allows the food to be easily carried and displayed. While there are many ring-shaped foods, bagels are unique because of how they are made. After forming the dough into rings, they rest in a fridge for up to two days. This helps the dough develop flavor and creates tiny bubbles on the crust when baked.
Before baking, bagels are traditionally boiled. This step is crucial because it changes the starch on the dough’s surface, making the bagel chewy. Boiling also helps form the bagel’s crust, which gives it a unique texture. Unlike regular bread, bagels don’t rise much in the oven, keeping them dense and chewy.
There’s a story that bagels were boiled because Jewish bakers weren’t allowed to bake bread due to religious reasons. However, this is more of a legend than a fact. Another theory suggests that boiling made the dough kosher, meaning it could be eaten without a blessing. The bagel likely has roots in a Polish snack that came from pretzels brought by German immigrants in the 14th century. One tale says a baker made bagels to celebrate a Polish king’s victory, but this story is also debated.
Bagels came to America with Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe in the 19th century. New York City became the bagel capital of the world. Early bagels were tough, but bakers adapted them to American tastes by making them softer. Bagels were often paired with smoked fish like lox, which was practical for families without kitchens. Cream cheese, though not originally Jewish, became a popular topping.
In Canada, Montreal-style bagels emerged, known for being smaller, denser, and sweeter than New York bagels. Both styles are delicious in their own way, much like comparing different types of pizza.
Making bagels was hard work, often done in hot, cramped spaces. This led to the formation of a strong labor union in New York City in the 1930s. The union had a lot of power, and when they went on strike, it caused a bagel shortage in the city. However, the union dissolved in the 1970s as machines made bagel production easier and cheaper.
A father and son team, Harry and Murray Lender, changed the bagel world by freezing them, allowing for mass distribution. By the 1990s, bagels were as common as fast food, with even places like Burger King offering bagel sandwiches.
Despite the rise of machine-made bagels, many shops still make them by hand. These artisan bagels attract people who appreciate the traditional methods. Whether you like your bagels classic or with a twist, there’s something for everyone.
Thanks for exploring the history of bagels! If you ever visit a traditional bagel shop, try a sesame seed bagel with cream cheese, lox, and capers. Or, if you’re near a Panera Bread, a cinnamon crunch bagel is a tasty choice too. Enjoy your bagel adventure!
Create a timeline of the bagel’s history. Use the information from the article to highlight key events, such as the introduction of bagels to America and the rise of frozen bagels. Illustrate your timeline with drawings or images to make it visually engaging.
Try making your own bagels at home or in class. Follow a simple recipe and pay attention to the boiling step. Observe how this process affects the texture and taste. Share your bagels with classmates and discuss the differences between homemade and store-bought bagels.
Research and compare the different styles of bagels mentioned in the article, such as New York and Montreal-style bagels. Create a presentation or poster that highlights the unique characteristics of each style and their cultural significance.
Hold a class debate on the best way to enjoy a bagel. Divide into groups and argue for different toppings or styles, such as classic cream cheese and lox versus modern variations like cinnamon crunch. Use persuasive arguments and historical context to support your position.
Role-play a day in the life of a bagel shop worker from the 1930s. Consider the challenges they faced, such as working conditions and the impact of the labor union. Discuss how the industry has changed over time and what it means for workers today.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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In 1976, Associated Press reporter Jules Lowe shared his advice for Southerners traveling to New York for that year’s Democratic Convention. After explaining that New Yorkers say “use” instead of “yell” and cannot pronounce “pecan” properly, he described their exotic cuisine. They call breakfast “breakfast,” but ordering it might be a challenge. He wrote, “Forget grits, which are unheard of. They eat something called a bagel, which is as hard to describe as it is to chew. Don’t send it back; it’s supposed to be that hard.” Around this time, bagels were transforming from a regional specialty to a mainstream breakfast staple in the U.S. In 2020, more than three in five Americans reported eating bagels, and according to a survey from 2022, the average person consumes 38.7 bagels per year. These baked goods can be found in supermarkets, fast food chains, and office break rooms across the country, though whether the frozen pre-sliced version truly qualifies as a bagel is a matter of some debate.
The bagel’s success is undeniable, but its path to breakfast dominance wasn’t straightforward. The journey was long and winding, much like the line at my local bagel shop on a Sunday morning. So let’s get rolling! Hi, I’m Justin Dodd, and welcome to Food History.
People have been rolling dough into rings for centuries. The shape serves a clever purpose; foods with holes can be hung up on a rod or string, making them easy to transport and display in large quantities. Italian taralli and Middle Eastern breads are examples of this design, but technically, they’re not bagels. The doughy rings most Americans are familiar with are distinguished by their cooking method as well as their form. Making bagels takes some complicated science. After the dough rings are shaped, they have to rest for up to 48 hours in a refrigerator. This process helps flavors develop in the dough through fermentation and is essential for the tiny blisters that form on the crust during baking.
Before they go in the oven, bagels are traditionally boiled. A brief dip in a hot water bath gelatinizes the starch on the surface of the dough. The starch granules swell with water, unlocking the starch molecules and allowing them to absorb additional water. This increases the moisture content in the bagel and contributes to its chewy texture. Parboiling the bagels also deactivates the yeast on the surface of the dough, which can survive at high temperatures. This step gives the bagel its crust, which is responsible for its unique consistency. The water molecules on the bagel’s outer layer become bound, meaning they’re less prone to evaporate during the baking process. In a regular loaf of bread, evaporation is what makes the crust crusty. Because a bagel’s crust sets early in the cooking process, the dough doesn’t rise much in the oven, keeping the crumb dense and chewy.
It’s sometimes suggested that poaching the dough was more than a matter of taste. There’s a popular story that because bread was associated with Christian communion, Jews were banned from baking it, and bakers skirted the bans by tweaking the recipes to include boiling. Bagel researcher Maria Balinska describes this as a folk tale. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America gives another theory: Jewish dietary law requires that before bread is eaten, hands need to be washed and a blessing said. However, clean water wasn’t always available, so observant Jews might not have been able to eat bread while away from home. This theory suggests that by boiling the dough first, it somehow became kosher without the blessing and hand washing.
One of the most common parboiled treats to come out of Jewish bakeries was a ring-shaped Polish snack that may have derived from pretzels brought over by German immigrants in the 14th century. According to one story, they rose to prominence when Poland’s first female ruler, Jadwiga, gave up fine breads and pastries for Lent. Instead of abstaining from carbs altogether, she made a “Jadwiga,” her slightly less indulgent bread of choice for the holy season. Another legend traces the bagel’s origin to 1683. That year, the Polish King Jan Sobieski allied with Austria to achieve victory against invading Turkish forces. A Viennese baker reportedly celebrated the feat by baking dough in the shape of a stirrup to honor the king’s love of horses. The circular baked good was named “beigel” or “stirrup” in German. Many experts are dubious about the veracity of that story, too. There’s evidence that bagels may predate that time period, and the tale is suspiciously similar to a popular origin story for croissants.
We might never learn the exact origin of the boiled and baked good, but considering a similar Germanic word can mean “ring,” the word “bagel” likely has roots in German. From there, it morphed into the Yiddish “bagel,” which turned into the anglicized term used today. The bagel underwent a transformation in the 19th century when Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe arrived in the U.S., bringing with them culinary traditions from the old country. Thousands settled in New York City, which quickly became the bagel capital of not just America but the whole world. Early Polish bagels were tough, with wide holes in the center that made them unsuitable replacements for sandwich bread. Jewish bakers adapted their recipes to suit American tastes by shrinking the holes and softening the texture without sacrificing the chew.
At the same time, Jewish immigrants from across Eastern Europe were mixing elements of their cuisines to create new Jewish American dishes. A number of cured and smoked fish, essential for surviving long winters in Europe, were paired with bagels. These types of fish, like lox, continued to prove practical in the new world for different reasons. Families packed into tenement buildings without stoves or running water often struggled to cook at home. Even if Jewish families had access to a functioning kitchen, they would have abstained from using it during Shabbat, instead picking up prepared foods from local businesses during the day of rest. Smoked salmon and bagels purchased from the local bakery and appetizing store became a quick and accessible meal. Newly invented cream cheese wasn’t a traditional Jewish ingredient, but its rich fattiness made it the perfect pairing for salty cured fish. Soon, other toppings like tomatoes, capers, and red onions entered the picture, making bagels and lox a fully contained meal.
Across the Canadian border, bakers in Montreal were experimenting with different bagel styles. Though the exact origin of the Montreal-style bagel is debated, historians agree they first appeared around the turn of the 20th century as Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe settled in the city. Compared to New York bagels, the Canadian version is smaller, denser, and sweeter, thanks to the honey-flavored water it’s boiled in. The two styles are often pitted against each other, but I’d say it’s more of an apples and oranges kind of thing—or a New York slice and Chicago deep dish situation. Eat one of each and then celebrate your decision as you see fit.
Bagels were a convenient choice for customers in the early 1900s, but making them was laborious. The process of producing one batch, which included kneading the dough, fermenting it overnight, boiling it, and baking it, could easily take 24 hours or more. That work was often done in dirty underground rooms in front of scorching hot ovens. It wasn’t unusual for the sellers to reach ambient temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. These rough conditions gave rise to one of the strongest labor unions in New York City history. Founded in the 1930s, Bagel Bakers Local 338 consisted of around 300 Jewish bakers. You had to have a family connection to be considered, and even then, a three to six-month apprenticeship and a minimum rolling speed of 832 bagels an hour were required to become a member. The exclusive membership came with enticing benefits. In 1960, the starting pay for oven workers was $150 for 37 hours of work a week, equivalent to nearly $80,000 annually today. Additional benefits included health care, dental, vision, overtime, 11 holidays, three weeks of vacation, and 24 free bagels for every full day of work. The union drew up new contracts each year, and as the controlling force behind New York’s favorite breakfast item, they had a lot of negotiating power. When Local 338 went on strike, they forced the city into bagel famines, shuttering the majority of bagel shops for weeks at a time. Faced with throngs of hungry customers and no way to feed them, employers were eventually forced to grant the workers’ requests.
If you’re frantically Googling whether Local 338 is accepting new applicants, I have bad news: the union dissolved in the 1970s in the face of a rapidly changing industry. For decades, bagels were an artisan product that could only be made by hand. New innovations in food production, such as preservatives, revolving ovens, and rolling and shaping machines, made them easier and cheaper for businesses to produce, thus taking away the workers’ bargaining power. The machine-made bagels were softer and closer to regular bread than traditional recipes, but companies had little problem selling them.
One of the biggest changes to the bagel world came from a father-and-son team, Harry and Murray Lender. Harry owned a wholesale bagel shop in New Haven, Connecticut, one of the few outside New York. The Lenders realized that freezing bagels preserved their texture and flavor, making mass distribution possible for the first time. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, packaged bagels began appearing on supermarket shelves across the country, and by the 90s, they were as mainstream as fast food. In some cases, they were fast food. An LA Times article from 1993 described the bagel as America’s newest food craze, reporting on Burger King serving limited-time bagel breakfast sandwiches—a fairly new phenomenon at the time. These were discouraging times for old-school bagel makers, as the process became easy to automate and the product became cheaply and readily available. It was easy to see how making bagels by hand could become a lost art.
Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. Many bagel shops in New York City and beyond continue to roll and shape their dough the old-fashioned way, and their hard work is often rewarded. The most popular bagel places can attract lines of people willing to wait for a fresh, high-quality version of something they can otherwise just pick up at the grocery store. In many cases, these artisan products haven’t changed from what was served a century ago. Though if you prefer a bagel that’s soft, rainbow, or cinnamon raisin, well, that’s available too.
Thanks for watching Food History! If you find yourself near an old-school bagel shop, do me a favor and get a sesame seed bagel with cream cheese, lox, and capers, please and thank you. And if you’re near a Panera Bread, well, I’m not going to say no to one of those cinnamon crunch bagels either. I’ll see you next time!
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This version removes any unnecessary or potentially sensitive content while maintaining the essence of the original transcript.
Bagel – A round bread product with a hole in the middle, traditionally boiled and then baked, often associated with Jewish cuisine. – Bagels became popular in New York City in the early 20th century, thanks to Jewish immigrants who brought the recipe from Eastern Europe.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs. – Learning about the history of food can reveal how different cultures have influenced each other over time.
Dough – A mixture of flour, water, and other ingredients that is kneaded and shaped to make bread or other baked goods. – The dough for bagels is unique because it is boiled before baking, giving it a chewy texture.
Boiled – Cooked in water at a high temperature. – Before baking, bagels are boiled to create a dense and chewy crust.
Jewish – Relating to the religion, culture, or people of Judaism. – Jewish communities have a rich tradition of foods, including bagels, which have become popular worldwide.
Immigrants – People who move to a new country to live permanently. – Many Jewish immigrants settled in New York City, bringing with them culinary traditions like bagels.
New York – A state in the northeastern United States, known for its cultural diversity and history as a major entry point for immigrants. – New York City is famous for its bagels, which are considered some of the best in the world.
Canada – A country in North America known for its multicultural population and history of immigration. – Bagels are also popular in Canada, particularly in cities like Montreal, which has its own style of bagel.
Union – An organized association of workers formed to protect and further their rights and interests. – In the early 1900s, bagel bakers in New York formed a union to improve their working conditions.
Frozen – Preserved by being made very cold, often used to store food for longer periods. – Frozen bagels can be found in grocery stores, allowing people to enjoy them even if they don’t live near a bakery.
