By Shannon Sarna, TheNosher.com
We know you love bagels (and we do too), so we thought it was high time to really explore the history of bagels in America, and why they are so Jewish.
So, let’s start from the beginning: A bagel is round, has a hole (no, it’s not a donut), and is made from a yeasted dough which is boiled and then baked in a very hot oven. It can be covered with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, all the seeds, or nothing at all. Some people even claim blueberry bagels are a legitimate flavor, but obviously, those people are wrong.
The bagel arrived in the United States with Jewish immigrants from Poland in the late 19th century. Long before it was schmeared with cream cheese and topped with lox, capers, tomatoes, and thinly sliced red onions, it was sold on the streets of New York City’s Lower East Side stacked up on poles or hung from strings—that’s why they have a hole—for people to buy and enjoy on the street. It was simple, comforting peasant food.
The yiddish word for bagel is actually beigel, and it is also theorized that the bagel is a descendent of the German pretzel, which is another yeasted dough bread that is boiled then baked. The boiling and baking process actually means that bagels stay fresher longer, which for poor Jews, was really important.
As Jews immigrated from Europe to North America, many settled in Toronto and Montreal, Canada, which created their own style of bagels distinct from the New York style. Meanwhile in New York City, there were so many bagel makers that Local 338, a bagel makers trade union, was created in 1915.
We can thank the invention of cream cheese in the 1930s, Lender’s Bagels, and 1950s housewives for marrying the bagel with cream cheese and lox, which was first suggested to serve as an appetizer at cocktail parties in Family Circle Magazine:
“Split these tender little triumphs in halves and then quarters. Spread with sweet butter and place a small slice of smoked salmon on each. For variations, spread with cream cheese, anchovies or red caviar. (They’re also delicious served as breakfast rolls.)”
Eventually the bagel, cream cheese, and lox became a quintessential Sunday morning staple as we know it today. One of the things we love most about bagels is that they are an iconic Jewish mash-up food that tells an immigrant story through one simple food.
This month, in acknowledgement of the prominent role bagels play in American Jewish culture and food culture overall, we asked our Jewish Federation of Delaware Staff and Jewish Living Delaware Advisory Committee to share their favorite bagel spots. From local neighborhood shops to New York food destinations, here are just a few bagel bakeries to check out next time the craving strikes!
Rabbi Ellen Bernhardt:
Hot Bagels for bagels and Casel’s for whitefish salad in Margate, NJ—simply the best!
Ellisha Caplan:
Original Hot Bagels in the Pike Creek Shopping Center is THE best bagel shop in Northern Delaware! Before I moved from North Wilmington down to Hockessin, I thought that Einstein Bagels was the best spot, but as soon as I tasted the chewy, dense (not bready—bagelly!!) everything bagel at Original Hot Bagels, I was hooked!
Emma Driban:
I’ve been on a mission to try all of the bagel shops local to Wilmington and am still working my way through. If pressed to pick one, I’d have to call out Concord Bagel just over the border in Chadds Ford. Nice chew, good seed distribution, and a reasonable sized hole—don’t you hate it when it takes away 1/3 of the bagel?! Their lox and scallion cream cheeses make great additions, too.
Lisa Driban:
My favorite local bagel store is Bagelmania in Newark. Their bagels have the perfect chew and are always well coated with just the right amount or seeds. It is the first place I ever had a Black Russian bagel (pumpernickel-everything), which is by far my favorite variety. They also have delicious lox spread and other spreads, and yummy breakfast and lunch sandwiches. It’s a bit off the beaten path, on Elkton Road in Newark, but worth the trip!
Sharon Fullerton:
Card-carrying bagel snob here, and there’s really only one bagel that I find worth writing about—and that’s a Bergen Bagel out of Brooklyn. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat other bagels if they’re served, but I can’t think of a time I had one around here and made a mental note of it. Sorry, local businesses, my buddy Brett visits often with his Brooklyn bounty—so the bar remains high.
Rachel Garofolo:
Zabar’s on the Upper West Side of New York has a special place in my heart for all things Jewish and ‘nosh.’ My family has been buying bagels, lox, gefilte fish, coffee . . . you name it . . . for decades. My sister, who lives a few blocks away from Zabar’s, is a vessel for us to continue the tradition of enjoying delicacies from this legendary store. If you don’t have a friend or family member in the city, you can order Zabar’s online!
Susan Towers:Surf Bagel has consistently made excellent bagels in coastal Delaware for more than 20 years. It started out in Lewes on Rt. 1 just north of Rt. 9. It also has a location in the shopping center where Midway Movies is and, most recently, opened a location in Fenwick Island.
