# Are bagels popular in England? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [November 12, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162 "2024-11-12T19:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/1 "2024-11-12T19:05:30Z")
Given the discussions about what we call cookies, biscuits and English muffins I’m not sure what they are called in England. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/2 "2024-11-12T19:13:39Z")
I believe it’s pronounced the same way but spelled “beigel.” They’re popular enough to have kept [Beigel Bake](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beigel_Bake) in business for 50 years and counting. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/3 "2024-11-12T19:38:23Z")
I’ve never seen an ‘English muffin’, let alone eaten one. I think they must be an American invention, like Chinese food. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/4 "2024-11-12T21:17:09Z")
We love our nooks and crannies over here. We also have a popular sandwich that combines “English” muffins with “Canadian” “bacon” and American "cheese’ but I think eggs are eggs everywhere (I think?) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/5 "2024-11-12T21:25:05Z")
I lived in London for the better part of a decade. Bagels were available in all major supermarkets and were spelled “bagel”, not “beigel”, on the packaging. They were also available in Jewish delis, like the one you linked to, but I never saw any of them spell it “beigel”. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/6 "2024-11-12T22:32:39Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > I think eggs are eggs everywhere (I think?) But do they have eggs over-easy in England? I watched [Stephen Fry in America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Fry_in_America) a long time ago, and if I’m remembering correctly in one episode when he was having breakfast in an American diner he seemed to imply that cooking eggs that way was specifically an American thing. (I know they sandwich you’re thinking of doesn’t actually use eggs cooked over-easy; the mention of eggs just reminded me of that) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/7 "2024-11-12T22:45:09Z")
I can’t remember ever being asked how I wanted my eggs to be fried - the default assumption is that people will want them fried so that the yolk is still liquid, but the white is fully solidified (most often that is achieved by covering them to steam the top surface a little, I think) ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/8 "2024-11-12T22:46:04Z")
Bagels need to be prepared starting about 4AM (kinda like ‘time to make the donuts’ yet earlier’). Prepared, dipped in a boiling water + baking soda (or bicarbonate of soda in the UK) till they float and then onto the pan. They are not popular (are they like crumpets? What do I spread on them?) You will not get one that can compare to a NY bagel (maybe some place in London) Same with Pizza. In old St. Petersburg, Russia they had a Sbarro’s which was as good as the one on 7th avenue by Penn Station in NYC. I always chuckled at the joke in the American Office where Steve Carell said he’s always go to the “Sbarros” in NYC. Hey, you know what you’ll get. The Sbarro’s in New St. Petersburg closed some years ago. And you could never ever get a good bagel in Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/9 "2024-11-12T22:48:56Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > You will not get one that can compare to a NY bagel I feel like this must be true (or else I cannot comprehend why bagels would be popular in NY); too often, bagels in England are chewy and stiff, to the extent that biting them just squeezes the filling out of the opposite side before your teeth have made it through the bread. I stopped buying them because of this experience. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/10 "2024-11-12T22:51:38Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > I’ve never seen an ‘English muffin’, let alone eaten one. I think they must be an American invention, like Chinese food. That’s weird. McDonald’s UK breakfast menu includes Egg McMuffin sandwiches and Tesco sells them in their supermarkets. (Edited to add, that Sainsbury’s sells them as well.) [![](https://digitalcontent.api.tesco.com/v2/media/ghs/7ea8cc4c-50b3-472d-8ef0-556eaebac378/c0bb1460-805b-44b8-b1d7-3faaf9a269bf.jpeg?h=960&w=960) ](https://digitalcontent.api.tesco.com/v2/media/ghs/7ea8cc4c-50b3-472d-8ef0-556eaebac378/c0bb1460-805b-44b8-b1d7-3faaf9a269bf.jpeg?h=960&w=960) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/11 "2024-11-12T22:52:12Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > the default assumption is that people will want them fried so that the yolk is still liquid, but the white is fully solidified (most often that is achieved by covering them to steam the top surface a little, I think) That is what we would call “sunny side up” in America. The egg is fried on one side, yolk still runny, and possibly covered briefly just long enough to set the whites. Whereas an egg cooked “over-easy” is flipped during cooking, so that the white is completely set, but it’s cooked for just a short time on the other side so that the yolk stays runny. Then there’s “over medium” and “over hard”, which are essentially the same thing but greater levels of doneness where the yolk is just partly runny, or not runny at all. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/12 "2024-11-12T22:53:11Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I can’t remember ever being asked how I wanted my eggs to be fried Agreed. Eggs ‘over easy’ seems to be a US expression not used here in the UK. Though there was a band of that name originally from the US who were somewhat known on the old ‘pub rock’ circuit in London. Can’t remember if I ever saw them…? ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/13 "2024-11-12T22:54:50Z")
Thanks to MacDonalds, they eventually learned. Not as good as "Thomas’ English Muffins’ with al those nooks and crannies, yet what you get for breakfast at McD’s will be familiar & passable enough . ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/14 "2024-11-12T22:55:51Z")
Hijack, but I think the Egg McMuffin is the best thing on the McDonald’s menu. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/15 "2024-11-12T22:57:13Z")
The muffins in McDs have an internal texture that is much more open and bubbly than a typical muffin from the supermarket; those are more like firm white bread inside (and the addition of ‘English’ is a fairly recent thing - they used to just be called ‘muffins’). ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/16 "2024-11-12T23:11:55Z")
[Waitrose Bagels](https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/new-york-bakery-co-plain-bagels/004267-1747-1748) They are passable, bagel-like breaded entities. Approximately like supermarket bagels. Dunno how popular they are. My brother in Forest Hills, Queens, NYC - the Bagel capital of the world - likes their crumpets yet good luck finding clotted cream! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/17 "2024-11-12T23:14:20Z")
That brand is in all the supermarkets. I would eat them halved and toasted with something spread on the cut surfaces, but would not attempt to construct a sandwich from them, for the squeeze-out reason mentioned above. They are chewy and stiff. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/18 "2024-11-12T23:15:43Z")
I partially agree; the sausage McMuffin (no egg) with cheese is probably the best deal for a fast food breakfast (I can get 2 of them and a soda for less than $5 even with today’s inflation). Perfect bit of savory saltiness to wake up in the morning. To get back on track (a little bit at least), I never liked any of the McDonald’s bagel sandwiches. Their bagels are way too chewy to have on a sandwich. I’ve had bagel sandwiches elsewhere that are perfectly fine to chew (Einstein Bros. probably makes the best bagel breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had in my life) but not McDonald’s. And apparently not every McDonald’s even serves those bagel sandwiches, it varies by location here in the US. (I guess I’m not the only one who doesn’t care for them.) To get even further back on track, I just looked it up and apparently the UK hasn’t had McDonald’s bagel sandwiches since 2020. See, the folks across the pond don’t care for them either I guess. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/19 "2024-11-12T23:16:22Z")
They’re pretty widely available, but I wouldn’t say they’re super popular. I’ve never seen the appeal - too dense and often dry. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/20 "2024-11-12T23:29:00Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > too dense and often dry. Yeah, and who wants that? Sounds even worse than day-old-bagels. I’ll just say it’s a cultural thing. Nobody in the UK is going to get up at 4AM to prepare bagels the “right way” so bagel representation is in plastic bags of five. ETA: What I’d give for a NYC Pretzel… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162.md?page=2)