Bagels! Lox! Add some cream cheese and perhaps a sliver of sweet red onion and a light grinding of fresh black pepper and life is good.
Just what is the origin of this quintessentially Jewish food? As often happens the threads of fact and fiction become so intertwined that they are difficult to unravel.
There is a legend that the first bagel was born in 1683 when a Viennese baker wanted to pay tribute Polish King Jan III Sobieski for saving the people of Austria from Turkish invaders. Since the king was known to have a passion for riding, the baker made rolls in the shape of a stirrup, known in German as beugel.
It has also been said that it was written in the early 1600’s that in Poland, bagels were given to expectant mothers, the ring shape being a symbol of life.
Charming as these stories may be, there are pictorial records in ancient Egypt showing ring shaped buns being boiled, the cook turning them over with the use of a slim stick. The hole in the center facilitated flipping the buns over in the water. Why boil them? In a warm climate of Egypt, the small bits of dough would often over-rise before the baker was ready to put them in the oven. By boiling them, the leavening process could be arrested at what ever state of development he wanted. He could then bake them at his leisure.
Whatever their origins, a bagel is a good thing. Enjoy yours today.
You can make excellent bagels at home. Follow this recipe for soft Pretzels making them in the shape of a ring instead of the traditional pretzel shape. Leave them plain or top them with poppy seeds instead of the coarse salt.
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