The Bagel's history

The tried and trusted favorite, bagels have been around for years!

According to legend the first bagels rolled into the world in 1683 when a Viennese baker wanted to pay tribute to the King of Poland (King Jan had just saved the people of Austria from an onslaught of Turkish invaders). The King was a great horseman, and the baker decided to shape the yeast dough into an uneven circle resembling a stirrup (or 'beugal').

Cream cheese is invented in 1872 - yay.

Thousands of Eastern European Jews immigrated to the United States in the 1880's. They brought with them a desire for bagels. Soon bagels became closely associated with New York and Chicago, both cities with large Jewish populations.

In 1907 a union just for bagel bakers is formed, the International Bakers Union, joining together 300 bakers. Only sons of union members could be apprenticed to learn the secrets of bagel baking in order to safeguard the culinary art.

Bagel production skyrocketed in the 1960's as machines capable of producing 200-400 bagels per hour were popularized.

In around 1987 bagels made their way into mainstream America, sold around the country in grocery stores and listed as standard items on fast food menus.

By 1988 Americans were eating an average of one bagel per month, and by 1993 America's consumption of bagels doubled to an average of one bagel every two weeks.

How do I look after my bagel?

Storing

Bagels stay freshest when stored in tightly sealed plastic bags. Allow to cool before transferring to plastic bag to avoid sweating. Never store bagels in paper for extended periods of time.

Reviving

Several day old bagels tend to harden, they are best frozen. They may be freshened up by toasting, broiling, microwaving very briefly (15 seconds), or moisten with water and bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Freezing

Bagels should be cool before freezing. Slice, place in freezer bag sealed tightly, and place all halves facing the same way (this makes them easier to separate). Sliced bagels may be popped in toaster while frozen.

Refrigerating

Don't do it! Keep bagels at room temperature or freeze them. Bread products (including bagels) go stale up to 6 times faster in the refrigerator. Fortunately, stale bagels can be brought back to life fairly easily - see reviving above.