March 21, 2012 - 10:03am
Lenders frozen bagels rated "very good" by Consumer Reports? Nay, says NY Post.
Here's an article to amuse us all: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/half_baked_4nxl6LzpMoeChzubqcaFUO
Now, back when I was a teen and you could go to Mr. Lender's bakery and get directly from him what was coming hot off his newly developed bagel machine, they were pretty good. The frozen ones? Not so much. ROTFL
Share
This is the problem I have with all food reviews! They're rating based on their own perceptions and expectations. It's entirely subjective. Two people can eat exactly the same thing and they'll subject it to entirely different criteria when deciding whether they like it. Some people even believe they like Wonderbread! It's ridiculous.
I haven't been to New York since I was a child, so my memories of my experiences may not be that great. I can say we have a wonderful bagel shop near my work that I go to occasionally. By comparison, what you buy in a bag at the supermarket is not a bagel at all. But of course, that's generally what I've come to expect, so maybe my expectations color my experiences. My parents bake their own bread at home, but when it comes to bagels they swear by the ones they buy in a bag at the store. I can only shake my head and wonder where my real parents are.
I agree that it is very subjective, there is a popular local coffee shop that sells bagels that in my opinion are like a kaiser bun with a hole in it but lots of people buy them daily. The people that buy those bagels probably would not like a real bagel, crusty bread, cheese that has real flavour............
Gerhard
Seems a lot of people are so busy (rushing home to watch "Dancing with the stars") they fall into the one stop shopping regimen. Stopping by a good bakery isn't worth their time. So sad.
bakers and bakerinas, I salute you!
Jim
People have been eating this crap for so long that its all they know. I bet if you gave them a real bagel they wouldnt like it. "To dense and chewy" they would say, "lacks that freezer burn and chemical additives taste I like so much". I saw a quote and I cant remember who said itbut it goes like this "How vain it is for someone to sit down and write who hasnt stood up to live". Lets change that around a little, "How vain is it for someone to sit down and write about food that hasnt begun to eat". Who's with me on this one?
Second and call the question.
I agree...Frozen bagels are like frozen pizza...not even close to the real thing. I live on Long Island where we have some of the best bagel shops in the country so I know a good bagel when I taste it!
When I freeze my bagels, I dare say the most snobby bagel head would be hard pressed to tell the difference between frozen and a fresh one. I can't tell and I made them.
if crap is the only thing you know, half-crap is ambrosia
Stan Ginsberg
www.nybakers.com
Unfortunately in many parts of our country they wouldn't know a good bagel if it fell from the sky.
I haven't had a chance to read the actual Consumer Reports Article just what NYT says about the article. What exactly are they rating? Are they comparing Frozen Bagels to Fresh Bagels? or are they doing a report on which Frozen Bagles are best. We all know there is no way to compare a frozen bagel to the real thing. Consumer Reports is probably trying to tell it's audience which of the "frozen" store bought bagels is the best of the bunch and not really saying, "Gee this Frozen Lenders Hockey Puck is just like the ones you will get at the best bagel shop in the world". I would imagine that there are plenty of people in the US and the world that don't have easy access to great bagel shop or bakery but, do have a supermarket near by.
I read the CR article on Bagels. It's really about what's the best choice for the average shopper - not someone that's had the good fortune to know that there are better choices. I'm trying to be non-judgemental about this but the last time I had a really good bagel was in New York City early one Thursday morning - the coffee wasn't that great but the bagel was estatically good with cream cheese, fresh chives, thinly sliced fresh white onion and nova lox...,
Wild-Yeast
P.S. I was meeting with attorney's so I made sure to eat some onions for breakfast...,
At least for my part...I love Tombstone pizza. I don't know why, always have, always will. It in no way compares to the real thing, but it's tasty. I only feel comfortable eating it about once a year, at those sodium levels it would be healthier to drink only salt water for a day. But that one time? Awesome.
I love a burger made with pastured beef, aged cheddar, and romaine lettuce on a kaiser roll baked that morning, but I also love the $1.50 cheeseburger from a local chain here that consists of a pre-molded patty, a squirt of ketchup and yellow mustard, a slice of american cheese, and a squished bun. They don't do special orders, you get what's on the menu like everyone else.
They can't be compared, one is indisputably more complex than the other, and I'll poke fun at the squished bun, but in the end it's all good...just for different reasons.
I always thought freezer bagels tasted a bit too much like cardboard for my liking, but you like what you like.
If you're a subject expert, you'll hold your head in agony reading their ratings. If you know nothing about the topic, you'll find them useful. When they reviewed chef's knives, they didn't sharpen them. The ratings they ended up with were nonsenical to anyone who is serious about knives. It's a useful rating if you're a person who throws your knives out when they get dull.
He was the very first 'Bagel Icon' who was the first to take bagels to supermarkets in the USA. He sold his company in 1984 to Sara Lee and made a fortune. I aways thought his Super Market bagels were small and not brown enough but tasted fine - nice chew. He always thought that folks would toast them and finish them off. He was right about that. But he didn't set the size either - Sarah Leee did.
Sad to see him die from a fall that he just couldn't recover from.