Salmon Lox and Schmear Bagels

Get ready for a classic with these Dantastic salmon lox bagels! Salmon lox and schmear bagels has a long history till its invention. Lox originated in Scandinavia, where the Swedes would master preserving salmon in a salty brine in the 19th century. Bagels, oddly enough, are believed to have come from China’s silk road, before being taken to Italy sometime in the 14th century. The two wouldn’t come together until the 1930s in New York City. But first some context on Judaism and bagels. In 12th Century Poland, the Church banned Jewish Bakeries, and with that ban it came to be that Jews could only work with boiled bread. That’s where the bagels first came to play for the Jewish community.. Fun fact, the first reference to bagel in Yiddish was around 1610. Bagels quickly became a Jewish staple in Eastern Europe, and was transported across the pond to America with the many immigrants that came in the 19th/20th Century.

In America, salmon Lox came to be for a couple different reasons. First, Salmon Lox was an easy way to reduce the need for refrigeration. Second, Fish was considered to be pareve, which means it could be eaten as a dairy or meat meal. Third, fish was easier to buy kosher from non-Jewish stores. Fourth, there was a strong demand for eggs benedict. You see, in the 1930s, eggs benedict was all the rage. Eggs benedict is, classically, an split open english muffin with a perfectly poached egg that's topped with ham, and then a smothering of hollandaise sauce. Outside of the obvious pork rule, Jews couldn’t eat the dish due to the mixing of dairy and meat which violated Kashrut, the Jewish dietary law.

The Jewish people of the big apple took this in stride, and instead developed salmon lox bagels with schmear as a kosher, and tasty, alternative. It was a smash hit, and not just with the Jewish population. It was an ideal replacement with all the savory protein and creamy flavor you could want.