Things You Didn’t Know about Bagels

Everything you need to know about the beloved breakfast food

From the LifeMinute.TV Team

January 15, 2022

National Bagel Day is January 15th. To celebrate the circular breakfast favorite, here are a few fun facts.

Bagels are said to have originated in Germany before migrating to Poland in the Middle Ages. Its name derives from the Yiddish word "beygal" from the German dialect word "beugel," meaning "ring" or "bracelet.”

Many consider it a cousin of the pretzel, or it may have developed alongside the obwarzanek, a favorite at the Polish royal court, a court frequented by the Jewish elite.

What makes Bagels unique? Well, for starters, they are boiled before baked, unlike many other types of bread. To be a bagel, you must be round. And you must have a hole.

The everything bagel flavor is a beloved flavor throughout the country. Its seasoning includes poppy seeds, white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, dried minced garlic, dried onion flakes, and flaked sea salt.

Caffeinated bagels are a thing. Bagels shops offer these double-duty caffeine-infused “buzz bagels” on their menu. Einstein Bros. offers an Espresso Buzz Bagel containing 32mg of caffeine.

Brueggers Bagels holds the Guinness World Record for the largest bagel. They displayed the 868-pound bagel at the New York state fair in 2004.

Bagels are out of this world. In May 2008, Canadian astronaut Gregory Chamitoff lifted off with the first 18 bagels aboard Discovery for a 14-day flight into space.