Here’s a mildly interesting video produced by the American Chemistry Society’s YouTube channel “Reaction,” which takes on the culinary science behind the New York Bagel, the widely-anointed “best bagel in the world.” Enjoy a preview of the video in list form below, or skip to the end to watch:
— “Let the hate flow bagel trolls”
— “Delicious”
— “Bustling Murray’s bagels in Greenwich Village”
— “Supremacy”
— “Soft water”
— “Catskill Mountains”
— “Calcium”
— “Magnesium”
— “Calcium sulfate”
— A halfhearted attempt at a Boston accent
— “Mineral content”
— “Goopy”
— “Dough”
— “Proofing”
— “Flavor compounds”
— “Pregelatinizes”
— “It’s like flash-frying a steak before putting it on the grill”
— “Quick bath”
— “Bagel hatred”
— “Chem-heads”
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Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.