The birth story of bagel: Here’s what you need to know
Have you ever tried a bagel? These boiled and baked ring-shaped breads are quite addictive and popular too, with different varieties doing the rounds. Some of them are frozen bagels, mini bagels, and flavoured bagels, which the go-to snack for many of us. Ever wondered, who came up with bagels and when? Turns out, there are quite a few historical legends behind them.
Born as a form of tribute to a Polish king
Perhaps this is the most popular legend surrounding the birth of bagel. It suggests that bagel originated in 1683 as a stirrup-shaped tribute to the Polish King Jan Sobieski who was responsible for saving the Austrian capital Vienna from Turkish invaders by sending his own royal army.
That being said, food historians trace back the origin of bagels another few years back in 1610 when an identical bagel-like bread roll was popular in the Jewish circles of Poland. It was called ‘obwarzanek’ and was a staple among the royals since 1394.
Offered as a treat to new mothers
Another legend suggests that bagel’s roots can be found in 13th century Syria when a ring-shaped biscuit called ka’ak was offered to women right after childbirth, both as a form of gift as well as a healthy snack. Later, when Syrians came to conquer Poland and Germany, they brought it with them and passed on to the Europeans. In fact, the name bagel has a German-Polish origin and has been derived from the Yiddish word “beygal” meaning “bracelet or ring.” By 16th century, bagel had spread all across Europe.
Interestingly, ring-shaped breads like bagel, can also be found in other cultures such as ‘taralli’ and ‘ciambelle’ in Italy or ‘girde’ in China.
Bagels reach USA
Now, mostly popular across the USA than in Europe, bagels arrived here with Eastern European, particularly Polish Jews immigrants around late 19th century. However, they were mostly common in Jewish circles until turned into a national sweet delight by a New York-based confectionery called Bagel Bakers Local 338 in mid-20th century. This happened right after the bagel machine was invented in 1958 by a father-son duo Harry and Murray Lender. In fact, the Lenders marketed it as a kind of ethnic food and described it as Jewish English muffin.
In fact, it was the Lenders who also launched the world-famous ceremonial bagel (burnt during the inauguration of any ceremony) when they organised “the wedding of the century” between the tubby bride named Phyl made out of Philadelphia cream cheese and an eight-foot-tall bagel named Len. It was in the year 1984. Since then, bagel and cream cheese have quite frankly ruled the hearts and stomachs of Americans, especially as staple during brunch.