Kinds Of Bagels

Americans have made bagels one of their go-to breakfast foods.

Round and round and round they go, but where bagels began nobody knows. Some say bagels originated in Poland, while others say Russia or Germany. No matter where bagels came from, Americans love them. According to a Good Morning America poll, one in 10 breakfast eaters choose to start their day with a bagel.

The Montreal Bagel

Sesame seed and poppy seed bagels are types of Montreal bagels.

There are two types of bagels sold in North America: the Montreal bagel and the New York bagel. Montreal bagels are made with malt, egg and no salt. They are boiled in honey-sweetened water and baked in a wood-fired oven. This makes them smaller, chewier and sweeter than New York bagels. For variety, Montreal bagels are often dusted with poppy or sesame seeds.

The New York Bagel

The two factors that make New York bagels different from Montreal bagels are salt and conventional baking. New York bagels are made with salt and malt. They are boiled prior to baking, but unlike their Canadian cousins, New York bagels are not wood-fired. They are baked in a standard oven. This, along with the addition of salt, makes New York bagels lighter and crustier than Montreal bagels.

Flavors and Seasonings

Choice is the name of the bagel game. In addition to plain and egg bagels, there are a wide variety of flavors. Bagel purists might enjoy a garlic, onion, poppy seed or sesame seed bagel. For the fruit lover there are cinnamon-raisin, blueberry, strawberry, cherry and cranberry bagels. For grains, there are whole wheat, rye, pumpernickel and oatmeal bagels. For the adventurous palate, there are jalapeno-cheddar; asiago cheese; spinach and Parmesan; and sun-dried tomato bagels. And for the sweet lover there are gingerbread, chocolate-chip and even s'mores bagels.

Toppings

Today, there are almost as many bagel toppings as there are flavors. Cream cheese is a traditional topping, but even that field is wide open. There are fruit-flavored cream cheeses and savory spreads such as salsa and spinach-feta. Widening the toppings choices even further is the fact that bagels are playing host to many sandwiches. Obviously, breakfast sandwiches are at home on a bagel, but so is tuna salad, pimento cheese and roast beef. The combinations are endless and limited only by your imagination.

References

• The Atlantic; The Secret History of Bagels; Ari Weinzweig; March 2009
• New York Times; The Circle of Life with Bagels; Mervyn Rothstein; November 2008
• Jewish Recipes: What are Bagels?
• ABC News-Good Morning America; Poll: What Americans Eat for Breakfast; Gary Langer; May 2005

Resources

• "The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread"; Maria Balinska; Novmeber 2008
• "The Best Bagels Are Made at Home"; Dona Z. Meilach; July 1995