Sorry, New York City. The best bagels are north of the border. (2024)
Montreal and New York City are both known for their bagels.
I've lived in New York since 2021, and have eaten plenty. I also recently tried them in Montreal.
I found Montreal's sweet, dense bagels to be better than New York City's large, doughy ones.
Since moving to New York City in 2021, I've learned that the city takes its bagels very seriously.
I've had my fair share of New York's large, chewy bagels in the past two years. I'm not a huge breakfast sandwich fan; I typically opt for a cinnamon raisin bagel with plain cream cheese. Even though I can understand the appeal of New York's bagels — there's even an annual festival dedicated to the food — I've never much cared for them myself.
But on a trip to Montreal this spring, I found that I'm not anti-bagel; I'm just not into New York's bagels, specifically. Montreal has its famous take on the food, and I much prefer its version to New York's — an opinion that's not exactly popular among foodies.
There are a few key differences between Montreal's and New York's bagels. For starters, Montreal's bagels are smaller and thinner, with a larger hole in the center. They're also baked in a wood-fired oven, whereas New York's bagels go in a conventional oven, according to Delish. Then there's the matter of toppings.
When I got my first Montreal bagel from St-Viateur Bagel, one of the city's most popular shops, I was surprised that it didn't have cream cheese on it. In New York, you typically have your pick of several different cream cheese flavors.
My tour guide, who took me to different restaurants around Montreal's Mile End neighborhood, told me they're typically eaten without cream cheese because they're sweet enough without it. That's because the bagels are boiled in honey water, which gives them a lightly sweet taste — whereas New York-style bagels are boiled in plain water.
While you can buy a small container of cream cheese to dip your bagel in, I opted against it, keeping with Montreal tradition by ordering a plain sesame seed bagel. It was certainly sweeter than a typical New York bagel, and as someone with a sweet tooth, I'd much rather choose a sweet sesame seed bagel.
I returned to St-Viateur the next day and got my go-to cinnamon raisin bagel. That time, I picked up a small side of cream cheese, which I spread over the bagel myself. I found that with or without cream cheese, I loved the density and sweetness of Montreal's bagels — and to me, it spoke volumes that they were tasty enough to eat without toppings.
New York bagels get boiled prior to baking, defining their special texture in a solution of water and barley malt. A long boil and thicker crust inhibit rising, resulting in a dense interior while a short boil yields a crusty yet chewy bagel bite.
Many people claim the main difference in taste and texture of a real New York bagel compared to other styles of bagels is due to the use of New York City tap water, which contains certain minerals which they attribute to creating a better bagel.
Montreal bagels tend to be smaller, thinner, sweeter and less salty than their New York City counterparts. Both are boiled, but Montreal employs wood-burning ovens for baking, while New York utilizes burlap planks. Many NYC loyalists tout the local tap water as the secret ingredient.
Whether it is the city tap water, or the centuries of tradition behind it, there is just something special about the New York style bagel and there are plenty of bagel shops across the city that have drool-worthy bagel treats.
a regular bagel is the water you boil them in. Much like a specific vineyard terroir is used to make a wine, certain minerals in New York City tap water are attributed to creating the best bagels. These include low concentrations of calcium and magnesium and a high level of sediment.
Bagels, however, did not make their way over to New York until the 1800s when many European Jewish immigrants migrated over, taking their bagel recipes with them. As time went on and the immigrants of New York began to assimilate more, bagels became more popular as more people from different cultures came across them.
Real New Yorkers don't toast their bagels! As a life long New Yorker, I want to show you where to eat a bagel and how to eat a bagel like a New Yorker. You'll have the most authentic New York experience and won't be judged by those around you.
A brief boil gives bagels a thin and fairly elastic crust that will still allow the bagels rise quite a bit in the oven, resulting in a softer texture. A longer boil and a thicker crust prevents the bagel from rising very much at all, giving you a very dense interior.
Baking soda makes the water more alkaline, giving the bagels a pretzel-like quality that contributes to their chewiness. Just one teaspoon helps the bagels develop a shiny, dark-brown exterior as they bake. One thing to keep in mind: Keep the water bath at a constant simmer.
In American Jewish cuisine, a bagel and cream cheese is sometimes called a "whole schmear" or "whole schmeer". A "slab" is a bagel with a slab of cream cheese on top. A "lox and a schmear" is to a bagel with cream cheese and lox or “Nova” smoked salmon.
Sorry folks, but the New York bagels I sampled were tastier with a lighter yet more complex texture, fresher inside with enough chewiness, crispy outside but not too hard to bite, all with a hint more of that yeast that makes you close your eyes and relish the moment like you've never had a bagel before.
If you're looking for an iconic pairing, go for a bagel with plain cream cheese and lox (smoked salmon) – it's the quintessential New York Bagel sandwich.
Betway surveyed 2,000 Americans to get all the details on the nation's “bagel preferences.” Hawaii comes out as the top state to consume the most bagels in a year, with Hawaiians eating around 142 bagels each year, according to the survey.
Popular mythology tells us that the soft water that trickles down from the Catskills in upstate New York has a profound effect on the softness of the bagels. Since there are less minerals (magnesium and calcium, for example) in this water, the gluten proteins don't tense up and make the bagels too tough to chew.
While the bagels are rising, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a generous amount of malt syrup or barley malt. Malt syrup gives the bagels their characteristic golden color and slightly sweet flavor.
“In fact, the state has some of the softest water in the country.” The article explains how the chemical makeup of soft water affects the dough. “Hard water toughens gluten, while soft water softens it, making the dough goopier. This produces a more delicious, chewy bagel.
According to popular mythology, the uniquely superb texture of the New York bagel has to do with New York City's water — specifically, its low concentrations of calcium and magnesium, which make it softer.
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