Bagel History
Intro
What's the story behind New York's bagels? Where do they come from? What are they doing? Where are they going? You might assume there's not much to learn about them, but you'd be wrong — the truth is that the tale behind New York's bagels is almost as rich and exciting as the bagels themselves.
So grab a coffee, kick back, and settle in: this, right here, is the hole story.
Birth of the Bagel
According to a profile on the history of the Bagel at The Atlantic, one account posits that New York's favorite fluffy round snack can trace its roots back at least six centuries. During the 14th century, a kind of thick bread known as pretzel arrived in Poland from Germany as part of that century's migration flow.
Whilst there, the pretzel slowly became the bagel - which was then known as the 'obwarzanek'. Towards the end of the 14th century, the Polish Queen Jadwiga ate obwarzanek during Lent, rather than the fancy-pants pastries she usually ate (even though it was still pretty expensive as far as bread goes).
In the wake of this, the obwarzanek became increasingly popular in Poland. Another account contests this version of events, and suggests that bagels date back to 17th century Austria, where they were invented by a Viennese baker who paid tribute to Jan Sobieski, King of Poland, by baking a bread in the shape of a horse stirrup — which, in Austrian, is called a 'beugel'.
Whichever version is correct, the bagel went on to become intrinsically linked with the Jewish religion in Poland, which, being one of the most tolerant countries in Europe, was one of the few places in the world where Jews were allowed to bake and sell bread. Over the ensuing centuries, bagels gradually became a kind of street food that was readily available for the poor.
Despite its lofty beginnings, by the latter half of this millennium the bagel had, in Eastern Europe, become the food of the common people.
Coming To America
It is believed that bagels made their way to New York with the migration of Eastern European Jewish immigrants in the late 1800s. Their production began in small, privately owned bakeries, where they were hand rolled, boiled, and baked.
As Jews assimilated and moved to different parts of the city, old world culinary staples and traditions were further shared. In the 1960s, bagel consumption in New York City skyrocketed following innovations in packaging and mass distribution channels. By the 1980s, the size of bagels nearly doubled and the New York Bagel, as we know it, was born.
By 1900, 70 bakeries existed on the Lower East Side, and in 1907, the International Beigel Bakers Union was created to monopolize the production bagel production in the city. The Jews of the city, in their craving for food from the old country- rye, challah, and bagels- created a craze in the city that would evolve into part of the New York identity. So much so that when there was a strike of bagel workers, a city-wide "bagel famine" took place on several occasions.
Today, the question still remains: why are New York's bagels so much better than everyone else's? One long standing rumor attributes it all to New York's water — a theory which may prove to hold some truth. An article posted by the Smithsonian defends the water theory by stating that New York's water has a perfect ratio of calcium to magnesium, giving it a "soft" quality. This soft water mends perfectly with the gluten in the bread, creating a delectably chewy bagel. Because most states receive water from different locations, each state's bagels comes out a different way.
The Smithsonian article also points out that most New York bagel shops practice two key steps to create the perfect bagel. They allow the dough to sit in a refrigerator before rolling, which assists in the fermentation process and creates a richer flavor in the bread. They then boil the bagel in a mixture of water and baking soda, forming the shiny, crisp outside and doughy inside. Between New York's water and perfected prep process, we created a bagel that simply can't be beat.