Oh, bagels! How can we ever resist them! My kids and I swoon over them. My neighbors are so crazy about them, they are always visiting bagel shops in Montreal and New York and buying their favourites. Since they are an affluent bunch, they can afford to do this.
But regardless of how we treat these delicacies, there will come a time when they will go stale and become uneatable. That's a sad day, right? Because of this inevitability, people often binge eat their bagels while they still can. It is an amusing sight to watch, honestly. However, it is a much better idea to keep our bagels fresh and delectable for as long as possible because eating a stale bagel is not good for your health.
If you want to learn how to do this and get the most out of your bagels, check out the next section where I have listed some proven approaches that will guarantee the freshness, crispiness, and savoriness of this treat. Check them out for yourself!
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How To Make Bagels Fresh
Despite what many people believe, keeping your bagels nice and fresh is not really that difficult if you know what to do. You just have to know the proper ways of handling, slicing, and storing them. Once you have achieved all of these factors, you can eat the finest bagels every day!
Storage Options For Bagels
As many experts would tell you, the freshness of a bagel, donut, or bread does not stay in the bakery or shop. There are a plethora of storage options that you can use to ensure that your bagels stay fresh. Here are some of them:
Can You Refrigerate Bagels?
Well, the answer to this question is a big no. Refrigeration is not recommended for bagels. Unlike with other food and kitchen ingredients, refrigeration will have a bad effect and can make your bagels go stale more quickly.
But this doesn't mean that you can't freeze them. This particular method is necessary if you want to preserve bagels for a long time. In fact, freezing can keep your bagels fresh and consumable for one to three months. But before you do so, you will first have to slice the bagels and then put them in a plastic bag. By doing this, you will further expand their lifespan.
Alternatively, you can wrap the bagels in aluminum foil before putting them in the freezer. Make sure that you cover them tightly and seamlessly to avoid any moisture and water from entering the food.
A frozen bagel is still safe to eat even after the expiration date. However, if you are keen on keeping its freshness, make sure that you consume it within the first two months of buying it. Meanwhile, since the bagel has been pre-sliced already, you can thaw it directly in your toaster. So you don't have to thaw it at room temperatures anymore.
The popularity of bagels has led to the rapid rise of sliced bagels, which have now became a ubiquitous sight in the industry. The advent of this technology has made sure that slicing machines for bagels are widely available for anyone to utilize.
However, if like me, you are not yet ready to have this device in your kitchen, you can easily slice it manually with a knife and some common kitchen amenities.
- First, you will need to secure the bagel on the table. It should lie flat on the surface so that you can hold it properly while cutting.
- Use a serrated knife to make the slices that you want. However, always make sure that the blade is placed horizontally to the surface, so that your cuts will be uniform.
- Finally, put the bagel upright with its end standing upwards. This is where you are going to make the final slice. Hold the upper part of the bagel to get a proper grip while slicing downwards.
The Best Methods To Warm Bagels
If you want to serve the bagels warm, just follow the steps that I have listed below.
First Method
The first thing that you should do is dampen the bagels with some water. You could also sprinkle water on their surface and wrap them in aluminum foil. Place the bagels in a preheated oven (which is around 350 degrees Fahrenheit) and warm them for about 15 minutes.
Second Method
Submerge the bagels in water quickly and then place them in a preheated oven at the same temperature that you used for the first method. Then let the bagels heat without the foil cover for around 10 minutes.
However, if you have an innovative toaster, you can warm your bagels in one click. Just check out all of my recommendations for the best 2-slice toasters and 4-slice toasters that can be used to warm your bagels.
Conclusion
It is essential for any bagel lover to know how to keep this delicacy fresh for as long as possible so that they do not go stale. If you want to keep this tasty treat in its best state, just follow the methods in this article.
Do you know other ways to keep bagels fresh? If so, then you can freely share them with us in the comments section below!