THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
Photo by Helene Konig
LORRAINE BERTAN,
CULTURE COMMITTEE
The “roll with a hole” has
been around for a very
long time, first appearing
in Egyptian hieroglyphics, and
in Turkey as the braided sesame
crusted pretzel and the Italian tar-alli,
flavored with fennel. Syrians
and Israelis favor rolls with a hole
that are seasoned with Za’atar, and
look much like taralli.
Bagels, or “beigels,” are unique
because they are boiled before
baking. The basic ingredients are
the same for all: flour, yeast, water
and salt. Rolls with a hole can be
easily transported, piled onto a
stick. German pretzels are exam-ples
of thick breaded bread that is
sprinkled with salt before baking.
The modern history of the bagel
begins in the 17th century in
Poland, which was known as the
“breadbasket” of Europe. Poland
was a large, economically
successful country, excel-ling
in the arts and scienc-es,
and Germans migrat-ed
to Poland seeking a
better life. They brought
with them baking tech-niques,
making pretzels
and bagels, breads which
could keep well. The
bagels of Krakow became
popular, and Jews began making
them in their own ovens due
to the strictness of their dietary
laws. In Krakow today there is a
“Bagelmamam” cafe where you
can buy New York style bagels in
the Kazimierz district, which was
the city’s Jewish quarter before the
Nazi occupation.
Bialys differ from bagels because
they are not boiled before baking.
They contain the same ingre-dients--
flour, water, yeast and
salt--but the consistency is softer,
more bread- like. Most significant
are the onions and poppy seeds
in the center rather than a hole.
It is believed that bialys were
invented during the 19th century
in Bialystock, Poland, and were
eaten at every meal. The passion
for bialys became a joke, and the
Bialystock residents were known
as “Bialystock Kuchen Fressors.”
Do not expect to find bialys if you
visit Bialystock; the Jews and bial-ys
left a long time ago.
The Pletzel is an onion/poppy
seed flat bread which originated in
Eastern Europe. It was popular in
the United States up to about 25
years ago, and was a staple at the
Yom Kippur Break-fast along with
bagels, lox, etc. It is slightly richer
than a bialy, somewhat sweeter,
and contains oil and yeast. It is
delicious! Bagels, bialys and plet-zels
are examples of chewy, satis-fying
breads, since they should be
brought fresh and usually served
with butter or cream cheese.
One can see the popularity of
bagels by watching the TV com-mercial
for Philadelphia Cream
Cheese describing the relationship
of bagels and a “shmear.” Harry
Lender, father of the Lender
Brothers, opened the New York
Bagel Bakery in New Haven,
Connecticut, in 1929 after he
migrated from Chaim, Poland
in 1927. By 1955, the business
expanded to the point that the
brothers, Murray and Marvin,
developed techniques to freeze
bagels in anticipation of the week-end
rush, and Lenders Frozen
Bagels and Packaged Bagels
entered the supermarkets in 1976.
In 1984, Kraft Foods (pro-ducers
of Philadelphia
Cream Cheese) pur-chased
Lender’s Bagels.
Various bagel compa-nies
are traded on the
stock market, and the
“roll with a hole” from
the shtetls of Eastern
Europe has become big
business throughout the
world.
FEAR OF FLYING
DURING COVID
A poem by Marian
Nemetsky*
‘Twas the night before flying, when all
through the house
Not a creature was sleeping, not even
a mouse.
Boarding Passes were handled with
great care,
In hopes of coming home on wings and
a prayer.
While visions of “What Ifs” danced in
our heads,
We packed sanitizers, masks, gloves and
our meds.
We spoke not a word; We were frozen
by fear.
When what to our wondering eyes
should appear?
The airport was empty, no waiting
on line.
Masked pilots and crew, it was simply
divine.
Arrived safe and sound, then had to
quarantine,
Not a human body or soul to be seen.
Still, happy we’re here for the days and
the nights,
Good luck to us all as we ponder our
plights!
*With thanks to Clement Moore
BAGELS, BIALYS & PLETZELS
Turkish tea and a bagel
A journey of 1,000
miles (around the
golf course) begins
with a single step.
BY FLORENCE LEVINE
Ponce de Leon searched for “The
Fountain of Youth”back in 1513 on
the Island of Bimini. Today, com-panies
claim they've bottled it, sell it in
droves and have you believe you can buy
it only from them. “Just pay up!” they say.
No! Wait! Don't! It's been the best
kept secret, buried in a Harry Potter-ish
back chamber of ancient wisdom. Dust
off the cobwebs. Industrialized, multi-tasking
modern man forgot what works.
The secret’s been there all along!
Come along with me to uncover the
truth: Nobel Prize winners Elizabeth
Blackburn and Elissa Epel, both PhD’s,
wrote the following in “The Telomere
Effect.” The story they weave is surpris-ingly
simple, yet true. They write:
“Imagine: You’re at a drugstore of the
future. You consult with the pharmacist
who gives you a choice between two pills.
You point to the first one and ask what it
does. The pharmacist ticks the benefits
off on her fingers.
‘Lowers your blood pressure, stabi-lizes
your insulin levels, improves your
mood, increases your calorie burn, fights
osteoporosis, and cuts your risk of stroke
and heart disease. Unfortunately, its side
effects include insomnia, skin rash, heart
problems, nausea, gas, diarrhea, weight
gain, and lots of others.’
‘Hmmm,’ you say.
‘How about the second
pill? What does it do?’
‘Oh, it's got the same benefits,’ the
pharmacist says brightly.
‘And the side effects?’ you ask.
She beams. ‘There aren't any. The
first pill is imaginary, a fantasy synthesis
of beta- blockers to control high blood
pressure, statins to reduce cholesterol,
diabetes drugs to regulate insulin, antide-pressants,
and osteoporosis medications.
The second pill is real, sort of. It's called
‘exercise.’”
P.S. “Exercise” is my ‘note-to-self’ post-it
staring back at me from the wall.
~Florence
September 2020 ¢ NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER 35