Bagel Day - February 9th

Everyone knows that today is International Pizza Day, but did you know that today is also National Bagel Day in the USA?

The bagel is a kind of bread made from wheat flour, with a very dense texture with a hole in the middle. It started out in the Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, many people say it was invented in Poland, when Jewish immigrants who escaped from the disturbances and oppression took bagels with them to the new places. For years the bagel was made, sold and eaten only among the Jewish communities.

A bagel seller in Poland, 1935

There is also a legend that he invented the local Jewish baker bagel in Vienna, Austria in 1863. He wanted to thank the King of Poland who defended his village from the Turkish invaders and made him a special hard, circle-shaped bun similar to the German riding track to commemorate the king's favorite place. From there, the bagel reached the Jews of Poland.

At the end of the 19th century, many Jews from Eastern Europe came to America and brought the bagel with them. In 1910 the "Local Bagel Character" organization was established in America where it was decided that membership in it and the study of bagel baking would be inherited only. The bakers learned from their parents the craft of baking the bagel for months. The bagel preparation work was slow and difficult and the profits were low. After World War II, bagels became especially popular in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. In 1960, Dan Thompson invented the first bagel making machine.

The new Anglo-Saxon breakfast turned into a bagel with lux (salted salmon) and cream cheese. Those who do not eat fish enjoy a bagel with cream cheese.

Many bakeries nowadays have bagels, and people can often buy bagels at the grocery store. You can get a frozen or fresh bagel, and you can also buy it at stalls or from people who walk around and sell it from a styrofoam box, like in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The bagel is cooked in a light syrup that gives it a dark coating and then baked in the oven. The most common toppings for a bagel are: sesame seeds, coarse salt and hyssop.

In honor of National Bagel Day, go out and buy a bagel and eat it hot and fresh with or without a tasty spread, because when the bagel is fresh, you don't have to add anything to it.

February 9 is also Pizza Day