Those beloved, ringed bread products have their own national holiday, and it gives us a chance to show our appreciation.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFA HOMEMADE bagel with fresh gravlax from ‘Modern Jewish Baker.’ (photo credit: SHANNON SARNA)
Friday, January 15 marks what is surely the most popular day of the year - National Bagel Day.Yes, those beloved, ringed bread products have their own national holiday, and it gives us a chance to show our appreciation.A mainstay of Jewish cuisine for hundreds of years, the bagel is thought to have originated in Poland in the 17th century - Yiddish writings from the 1610s mentioned bagels - although ring-shaped bread dating back 3,000 years has been found in Austria.A staple of the Eastern European diet, the bagel moved to America with the great waves of immigration of Ashkenazi Jews in the 19th century.With thousands of Jewish immigrants settling in New York, particularly Manhattan's Lower East Side, the bagel soon became a common sight around the city, and hundreds of small bagel bakeries were set up, and it is the New York-style bagel that is most famous around the world. They even had their own union until the 1960s - Bagel Bakers Local 338.Traditionally enjoyed with cream cheese and smoked salmon (lox), tuna, or hot salt beef, bagels can come topped with poppy seeds, sesame seed, onion, garlic and even cinnamon.Historically celebrated across the United States on February 9, recent years have seen the date move to January 15, but if one day isn't enough, you can always celebrate both.So celebrate the festivities, and get yourself a bagel!
