Many attempts have been made to describe the bagel. “An unsweetened doughnut with rigor mortis” was one given in an article in The New York Times in 1960.

According to one dictionary, it’s “a ring-shaped roll with a tough, chewy texture, made from plain yeast dough that is dropped briefly into nearly boiling water and then baked.”

How did the bagel get its name?

Explanations differ, but in each, the bagel gets its name from its shape. According to The American Heritage Dictionary, bagel comes from beygel, in Yiddish, the language derived from High German dialects –judisch diutsch {“Jewish German”), written in Hebrew characters, and spoken chiefly in eastern European Jewish communities and where emigrants from these communities have settled throughout the world. The word ultimately derives from Middle High German bouc, or Old High German hous, which both mean "ring." But there’s also a legend that bagel derives from beugal [stirrup], which also has a circular shape; see below.

The best definition of bagel?
When you eat an Izzy’s bagel, you’ll understand what a bagel is.

Who made the first bagel?

No one knows.

The first printed mention of the word bagel, according to Leo Rosten in The Joys of Yiddish is found in the Community Regulations of Cracow, Poland for 1610, which state that the item was given as a gift to women in childbirth. (Still, enquiring minds may wonder if this bagel was originally a ring-shaped roll—or a ring or a bracelet?)

Legend has it that in the summer of 1683, bound by a treaty with Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I against the Turks, the King of Poland, Jan Sobieski, in one of the decisive battles of European history, led about 75,000 men to victory against the Turkish army that had for two months lain seige to Vienna. To honor Sobieski, a superb horseman, a Viennese baker shaped some yeast dough into the shape of a stirrup.

If this is true, Austrians had plenty to celebrate! Not only did they escape subjugation by the Turks, they could express their gratitude towards their Polish liberator by eating deliciously chewy, ring-shaped rolls. And that wasn’t all: the defeated Turks left behind bags of green coffee beans, which, upon advice of a spy, the Viennese then roasted. Thus, from the spoils of battle arose one of the greatest glories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: the Viennese coffee house, where even today citizen and tourists take their ease and restore themselves with gossip or solitude, newspapers, excellent coffee, and superlative pastries.

However bagels came into being, their unique appeal swiftly won them devotees. As they dispersed throughout Eastern Europe, they brought bagels with them. And when thousands of Eastern European Jews immigrated to the United States in the 1880s, some started bagel bakeries to assuage the pang of dislocation by introducing best-loved foodstuffs from the Old World to the New World. Wherever bagels had started, Brooklyn is where they landed—and where they were perfected.

In neighborhoods with large Jewish populations, the bagel became ubiquitous. But you didn’t have to be Jewish to enjoy a good bagel—and you still don’t! In fact, by 1907, the bagel was so beloved that a union was formed exclusively for bagel bakers. The International Bakers Union brought together 300 bakers; to safeguard the art of the bagel, apprenticeships in bagel bakeries were granted only to sons of union members.

By the 1960s, with the invention of machines capable of producing 200 to 400 bagels per hour, bagel production soared. By the mid-1980s, bagels were no longer just a Jewish delicacy but, like pizza before them, had become assimilated as standard American fare.

Along the way, sad to say, many bagels had undergone their own transformation from small, dense, and satisfyingly chewy into large, puffy, and a mere platform for sandwiches. Bagels were everywhere—big grocery stores, fast-food menus, middle-America cafeterias, even frozen-food sections. In 1988, Americans ate, on average, one bagel per month; in 1993, it was one every two weeks. According to Modern Baking (May 2004), the previous 12 months showed sales of fresh bagels of 168,400,960 and the sale of about one-third as many frozen bagels. Of course, many people eat a bagel every day for breakfast, snack, lunch, or dinner!

Yes, Americans were eating more bagels. But many were enjoying them less. That’s what happened when Israel Rind left New York City and came to California. Unlike many disgruntled bagel eaters, he did more than kvetch: he decided to take action. (To learn what he did, click to:
About Izzy's).

How They’re Made

“Unassimilated bagels.” These are bagels the way there were in the good old days and the way they must be if they are to be the best. First, without giving away our secrets, bagels are formed before the dough rises, are allowed to rise naturally—NOT “force-proofed,” and, after certain proprietary steps, are then boiled and baked.

“Assimilated bagels”—those prepared for ultimate efficiency of production--are a much faster food, and while they can be quite good, they won’t taste the same as Izzy’s bagels, and, for a true lover of bagels, their taste and texture won’t be as good.

Why They’re Good For You!

Good Eating!

Bagels not only taste good, they are good for you.

Izzy's basic bagel is made from flour, yeast, water, and tiny amounts of brown sugar and salt that add up to only about 200 calories.

There's no saturated fat, no trans-fat, no added fat, period! (That comes later when you spread the cream cheese). Only Egg Bagels, which are made with whole eggs, have a bit of cholesterol.

And all the other bagel flavors include the highest-quality natural ingredients that provide the “extra” flavor—sun-dried tomato, sesame seeds, raisins, olives, chocolate chips, etc.

Probably most important, an Izzy's Brooklyn Bagel bagel is satisfying. And when you're satisfied, you won't be scarfing down junk food.

What To Do With Bagels

Eat them!
Eat them when they’re fresh, untoasted or toasted.
Enjoy them plain or, depending on the bagel, spread with butter, cream cheese, jelly, jam, peanut butter, Nutella, honey; or as a sandwich filled with cream cheese, lox, smoked salmon, red onion slice, tomato slice, meats (chicken, roast beef, salami, etc.); salads (tuna, whitefish, egg, eggplant, etc.).

Store them.
In a paper bag at room temperature, if you will eat them within 2 days of purchase.

In a plastic bag in the freezer compartment of your refrigerator. To eat, thaw at room temperature or on “defrost” setting in the microwave; then enjoy plain or toasted.