Trader Joe’s Artisan Bagels:

These were a fairly recent addition I noticed in TJ’s BREADS area. They looked promising and so I had to try them.

Now of course Trader Joe’s sells many other kinds of bagels. I’ve bought the “The Bagel Spinoza” (with that weird picture with ’it bagels the mind’ as the motto… huh?) a few times but frankly found them to be seriously in the “Just OK”Department. As usual in many commercially factory made bagels, The Bagel Spinoza does not have anywhere near the real chewy texture and bite of the classic, true “New York Bagel”. Why? Well a real and true bagel is made by a rather unorthodox baking method of both, boiling and then baking it. Yes, you read that right…BOILING (bread). To make a true bagel, after the bagel is formed into the round shape which is best by hand, aka a ’Hand Rolled’ bagel, the raw dough is thrown into boiling water and first BOILED for a few minutes prior to being put in the oven and baked (sounds crazy maybe but seriously folks, that is exactly how real bagels are made ).

This classic technique is what makes a real bagel very chewy on the inside and slightly crusty on the outside, and what makes a really good bagel taste and feel so good to bite into, and so damn bagel-y delicious. The dual cooking process gives bagels a unique combination of chewy interior plus baked exterior.

Trader Joe’s Artisanal Bagels look like true real NY bagels, and it boldly states on the rather attractively designed bag, both “Kettle Boiled” and “Hand Shaped”. Not to mention the golden words: “BAKED IN NYC – baked fresh daily”. Naturally I had to try these babies. Guess what? They are damn fine, tasty bagels. Far better than your average store-bought bagels.

Personally unless I will be using them immediately, I usually freeze my bagels soon after buying them, cutting them in half first (carefully of course!) so they are easier to handle and faster to defrost after being frozen. I generally tend to toast my bagels in the a.m, and these TJ real bagels make for an excellent toasted bagel. TJ’s Artisanal Bagels come 3 in a bag, and they sell for $1.99, at least in my area, NYC. They come in a few varieties. I liked the “Everything bagel” which has poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic,and onion. You should definitely try these if they are available in your area; I’m not sure since they are “Baked in NYC” if they ship all over the country, but if you see them, try them.

FROM THE PACKAGE: “Made from scratch by experienced craftspeople, our Artisan Bagles are hand-rolled and kettle-boilded using the highest quality ingredients. Master bagel makers spend hours preparing the dough, hand shaping each bagel, then kettle-boiling in small batches, never taking shortcuts that might shortchange quality.”