Info about Bagels
Bagels: The Bread for Breakfast
Bagels are very traditional bread products which are either homemade or available in the bakery. Traditional bagels are shaped by hands in the form of a fairly large ring. The size can vary but usually they have size of an adult hand. The usual ingredient of this is wheat. Sometimes rye, barley or rice also can be used for making it. The basic principle in its making is the same that of bread making. Yeast is used to leaven it and the dough is partially steamed and then baked. The result is a soft interior and a crispy exterior. Some time the outer crest is larded with nuts.
Bagels are very popular bread products in the US, Canada and the UK. The large scale industrial production has resulted in products with different flavors and presentations. Fresh and frozen bagels are available in the market. The traditional shape of the bagel with a hole in the middle is many hundreds of years old. The hole serves also a purpose. It ensures even cooking and baking. The hole helps to run a string through it and facilitate easy storage.
Though we may never know with any certainty who really invented the bagels, legend and lore regarding the origin of the product in Poland are rife. Some say that the bagel was created to commemorate the victory of the Polish King Jan Sobieski over the Ottoman Turks in 1683. However, there is enough evidence that it was used in Poland much earlier. It has something to do with the Jewish Diaspora in Poland. Traditional Polish Jews have a custom of making bagels on Saturday evenings to mark the end of Sabbath. The bagels once it is made ready can be cooked very quickly. There are many theories about the origin of the word bagel. However, due to the Jewish ring about the product it well may have a Yiddish origin.
Bagels came to United States as part of the Jewish migration. The food spread to other communities because of the ease in its preparation. The industrial production of bagels started in 1960 in the US. The convenience of the food has made the thing very popular. It is ideal as break fast but also could be eaten as snacks.
The traditional bagels have evolved not only in the shape but also in the taste and the quality of the ingredients. Today, milk, butter, sugar, eggs, vitamins and other taste makers are added at the production time itself. At the time of consumption they are taken with meat, fish and vegetables. Some people also lard the bagels with honey or jam and relish it. In fact it has all the utilities of the traditional bun and bread plus the crispness and softness. These qualities make bagels a wholesome food especially as a breakfast. Bagels at breakfast is catching up everywhere due to the modern industrial production and marketing strategies employed by the global food conglomerates. In the near future bagel might find their way to more developing countries.