The popularity of the bagel has clearly gone mainstream. It wasn't always so. Here is an account of my history with the bagel.

In the mid-70's, my first job out of graduate school was as medical social worker at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Milwaukee, WI. Those were the days before it transitioned to Mt. Sinai Medical Center only later to evolve through a series of restructurings and retitlings. One benefit of being a hospital employee is access to the employee cafeteria. This meant good hospital food at a reasonable price along with ready availability should some type of code be called during one's scheduled lunch. (I do not intend "good hospital food" to be read as an oxymoron.)

This was my introduction to bagels and bialys; it is the only place where I have experienced that distinction and where the two were served side by side. The two share a similar appearance and origin (Both are of Polish origin. Thanks, Wikipedia.), but are quite different, when one moves beyond appearance. The bagel is boiled before it is baked. The bialy is only baked. I always preferred the latter with butter and jam. It was several years before I eased into my current preference of cream cheese and jam. I am still very much a novice; I have not had a bagel or a bialy with "lox und schmear." I would certainly be willing to give it a go, that would entail a trip to a Jewish deli. And I'm okay with that as well. Road trip?

A brief on-line search reveals there is a third option, that is, the commercially prepared bagel. Commercial production does not involve the two-step process of boil and bake. What is sold commercially as a bagel is baked in an oven equipped with a steam injection system reducing the two-step process to a single step. In texture, consistency, taste, etc. I would place this commercial product somewhere between a traditional bagel and a bialy.  Why was bagel chosen for its nomenclature? Thus far, my search provides no answer.

For now I am at home with this young upset brought on by commercialization. Bagels Forever is part of any trip to Madison, WI. A still warm sesame seed bagel topped with a flavored cream cheese is my favorite. The frozen product from the same point of origin and available in the local market is a tease, at best. For now, I will allow myself to be teased.