FAQs
While bagels are typically associated with breakfast food, you can eat bagels for any meal of the day with any number of savory or sweet toppings. For an optimal bagel-eating experience, be sure to heat and slice your bagel before enjoying your bagel open-faced or as a sandwich.
What is the correct way to eat a bagel? ›
The Correct Way to Eat a Bagel Is Open-Face. It yields a superior ratio of bagel to schmear. Welcome to the Great Bagel Boom, a series celebrating the vast creative expanses of bagel culture across America—because yes, you can find truly wonderful bagels outside of New York now.
How do most people eat bagels? ›
Bagels are one of those foods that can be eaten a variety of different ways. Two of the most popular techniques are eating the two halves pressed together, and eating each side one-by-one.
What US state eats the most bagels? ›
Surprisingly, Hawaiians eat the most bagels out of anywhere else in the US, enjoying around 142 per year, equivalent to three eaten each week. Utah comes next, eating 128 on average each year, followed by Kansas and Maryland, who both get through 120 each year.
Why are bagels so popular in USA? ›
In the United States, the bagel became associated with Jewish culture, particularly that of New York City. Bagels entered the American mainstream in the 1970s when a bakery started to sell frozen packaged bagels in supermarkets.
What do Americans put on bagels? ›
A bagel with cream cheese is common in American cuisine, particularly in New York City. It is often eaten for breakfast; with smoked salmon added, it is sometimes served for brunch. In New York City circa 1900, a popular combination consisted of a bagel topped with lox, cream cheese, capers, tomato, and red onion.
Are bagels healthier than bread? ›
Bread is not necessarily healthier than bagels, and bagels are not necessarily healthier than bread. The health benefits of bread and bagels depend on the varieties of each that you are considering, and the type of flour used to make the bagel and the bread.
Are bagels junk food? ›
Bagels can be healthy if made with whole grains, contain minimal fat and sugar, and are an appropriate portion size for your health goals. For a healthier choice, look for whole wheat, whole grain, or rye bagels. While bagels with cream cheese are delicious, traditional cream cheese is not necessarily healthy.
Why do Jews eat bagels so much? ›
Bagels are created in 17th century Poland as a response to anti-Semitic laws preventing Polish Jews from baking bread. Jewish bakers circumvented these restrictions by boiling the dough before baking it.
Why are NYC bagels so much better? ›
a regular bagel is the water you boil them in. Much like a specific vineyard terroir is used to make a wine, certain minerals in New York City tap water are attributed to creating the best bagels. These include low concentrations of calcium and magnesium and a high level of sediment.
New York style bagels are made with malt syrup and New York City water (which locals will tell you makes all the difference), and their fermentation is drawn out in cold temperatures to deepen the flavor. They're poached in salted water and then baked.
What is the bagel capital of the world? ›
History and Value of the Bagel Festival
“Monticello New York, the birthplace of the bagel, and official bagel capital of the world, is becoming known not only for the quaint charm of the town, but for the annual Bagel Festival.
Are bagels meant to be toasted? ›
A bagel that is not fresh out of the oven, that is at least six hours old, does need to be toasted, whether it is going to be buttered or topped with cream cheese, nova or both. Otherwise it will be too hard. A bagel that has been sliced and frozen obviously needs to be toasted when brought back to life.
How do Americans actually eat breakfast? ›
The Hartman Group's 2019 Eating Occasions Dashboards report showed that more than half of consumers ate breakfast alone before the pandemic. Breakfast is also the least likely of all occasions to take place with friends. Easy-to-prepare, heat-and-eat breakfast sandwiches, wraps and omelet bites are common options.
What do New Yorkers eat on their bagels? ›
The Ultimate Guide to Eating Bagels in NYC
- Absolute Bagels's unmistakable menu board.
- Egg and cheese on sesame from Absolute Bagels.
- White fish with much dill; salmon at Apollo Bagels. Photo by Sam Freeman.
- “Black Russian bagel” (pumpernickel-sesame) with scallion cream cheese, red onion, caper, and tomato at BO's.
The TennisCompanion.org site defines a bagel as “a set where the ending score is 6-0″ and gives this as a sample sentence: “I'm going to serve my opponent a bagel today.” The explanation is simple: A bagel is round, like a zero. So it's used to describe situations where one player scores nothing.
