If you’ve only recently discovered the New York Bagel, you may not realize just what a huge difference they are about to make in your life. First, you are going to have your taste buds blown away by the incredible taste and texture of the delicious New Yorker bagel, and then you are going to realize you want another. Pretty soon you will be completely addicted, and will find yourself depending on bagels at all hours of the day and night to solve almost any problem.
In order to enjoy bagels properly and assimilate them into your lifestyle, there are a few basics you need to know.
- Eat bagels as soon as possible. If possible, bite into them as you are leaving the establishment at which you purchased them. There’s nothing quite like a fresh bagels. In fact, we recommend buying a tent and leasing sidewalk space near your closest New York Bagels vendor so you can assure yourself of fresh bagels at any time.
- If you have any pesky life realities such as a job or a family that prevents you from staking out the local bagel shop, make sure that you always buy enough bagels to supply you through an ice storm, a power outage or a zombie apocalypse. This means you need roughly one to two dozen bagels on hand at any one time.
- Store these extra bagels in tightly sealed bags – allow to cool, if fresh, then wrap in a plastic bag and secure tightly with no excess air in the bag. Paper bags won’t work – the bagels will dry out and get stale – and putting them in plastic while hot will cause steam to gather on the inside of the bag and make the bagels soggy.
- If you plan to keep your bagels more than a day or so, freeze them (slice first and place the bagel halves facing the same way before freezing.). Then you can retrieve them and quickly freshen them up by popping them in the toaster, toaster oven, or under the broiler (spread split sides with butter). You can also moisten them very lightly with water and place them in a 350 degree oven for ten minutes.
- Don’t put fresh bagels in the fridge – they go stale up to six times faster if you do. Most commercial bagels sold in the refrigerated section at groceries have added preservatives to keep them from going stale while cold, but fresh baked bagels do not. Also refrain from being uncouth and microwaving bagels unless there is not other option – if absolutely necessary, wrap the bagel in a damp paper towel and zap for no more than 15 seconds.
Enjoy bagels with just about anything – PB&J, Nutella, Cream cheese, hummus — you get the idea. Use them to make breakfast, lunch or dinner sandwiches, or slice them into sticks and use as dippers for a quick and easy appetizer. The possibilities are endless!