
Did You Know The Birthplace of The Bagel is in the Hudson Valley?
Everyone's favorite carb-filled breakfast treat, the bagel, is celebrated in the early weeks of January on National Bagel Day.
Did you know the bagel has very strong ties to the Hudson Valley?
National Bagel Day Celebrated Every Year in January
Bagels are probably one of the more popular breakfast food items. So much so that there's a special day to celebrate them!
According to National Day Calendar, National Bagel Day falls on January 15th every year. The recipes for bagels made it's way to the United States thanks to Polish-Jewish immigrants.
Bagels were made by hand for quite a while, but by the 1960s things started to change. One Hudson Valley inventor changed the bagel game.
The Birthplace of The Bagel: Monticello, New York?
While National Bagel Day is celebrated in January, over the summer (usually around August) The Bagel Festival takes over Monticello, New York.
To some it may seem random to hold the festival in the Sullivan County town, but when you dive into the history of the bagel you'll learn that Monticello is actually "the birthplace" of the breakfast delicacy.
According to The Bagel Festival website, in 1968 Louis Wichinsky filed a patent for "Dough Kneading Machine for the Forming of a Bagel and the Like." You can see the actual patent online.
Wichinsky was born and raised in Hurlyville, New York and was known for his creative inventions. However, the Sullivan County museum website explains the idea for his best invention came in 1942. The museum states when Wichinsky was stationed in London with the Air Force, the idea was born for a bagel making machine.
Here's how it went down, according to the Sullivan County Museum:
He was spending the Jewish holidays with two brothers who owned a bakery. One of them, Sam Wolinsky, put a challenge before him: “Louis, you Yanks can do anything. How come you can’t build a bagel machine?'”
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Monticello, NY: The Bagel Capital
In 2012, the Village of Monticello Board of Trustees and the Town Of Thompson Town Board made it official.
They issued an Official Proclamation that Monticello, NY is The Bagel Capital. The proclamation states:
We proclaim this in honor of its culture, history, and people. You have and will inspire this world forever because of your unique trend setting achievements and creativity in the bagel realm.
The 2025 Bagel Festival will be held on August 10th from 9 am until 4 pm in Monticello.
Where's your favorite Hudson Valley bagel spot?
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