AR on FOOD: Bagel

The bagel is round like a doughnut but is not a doughnut.

I don’t remember bagels I’ve eaten. It’s probable that I’ve never had a memorable bagel.

Until relatively recently in America, bagels were considered “ethnic.”

There’s a Simpsons episode in which Mr. Burns rebukes his assistant for serving him doughnuts, by screaming something like: “you know how I feel about ethnic food!”

Bialys are like bagels minus holes. They are still fairly ethnic. Anything you can’t buy in a Safeway Supermarket is still ethnic.

Bagels are boiled first, then baked.

I’ve never eaten lox. I think it’s salmon. I’ve eaten salmon and deem it my least favorite seafood.

Smoked trout, however, is good with a dense bread, surrounded by cheese and fruit and nuts.

The bagel can be the container for a sandwich. The hamburger-on-bagel is a tasty thing.

But it drips.

Bagels are best toasted. Cream cheese is the condiment de rigeur but I’m not crazy about cream cheese on my bagel. Hummus makes a good spread, as does peanut butter.

A true bagel is chewy, not yielding and soft like a doughnut.