- Aimee Levitt
In order for a bagel to be truly a bagel, as opposed to a round dinner roll with a hole in the middle, it needs to be boiled before it’s baked. When you do this, the bagel develops a tough, shiny crust that contrasts pleasingly with the soft, bready interior. (Allegedly they were teething rings for Jewish children back in the Old Country.) This is what a bagel should taste like. There have been debates about whether there are special, unduplicatable components in the water of New York City that make it impossible to bake a real bagel elsewhere. I will not go into those here. Just know that it takes, at most, five extra minutes to boil a bagel. Now think of all the inferior bagels you’ve been forced to eat. There should be an uprising.
But what about the bagels? After all, if you’re in the Loop, it’s much easier to grab a box of Einstein’s or even Dunkin’ Donuts.
