Was Life Better When Bagels Were Smaller?

Bagels are to New York as cheese is to Wisconsin, as Baguettes are to France, and as Clam Chowder is to Boston. Bagels are tied into the history of New York. A bagel is more then just a delicious mixture of high gluten flour, water, yeast and malt, it is a symbol of the Jewish culture in New York, it stands for the rise of unions and the melting pot that New York still is. The bagels hard shiny exterior and its soft warm center is more then just a breakfast item, it is a metaphor for New York, and all of its varied residents.

In a city of varied cultures, ethnicities, and races the bagel unites them all. But bagel buyers beware, not all bagels are created with the same chutzpah. Before 1960 all bagels were made by hand, the dough would be shaped, boiled and then cooked into the golden delight weighing in at three ounces. Yes, three ounces, until the 1980’s, when bagels became one of the elements in a sandwich, bagels were traditionally much smaller. New Yorkers took their bagels so seriously that until bagel making machines were introduced in the 1960’s, a union was designed specifically for bagels. Local 338 was formed in the early 1900’s and consisted of almost 300 bagel men in New York City. Although the union mostly died off after the machines were invented, there are still a few small bagel shops that adhere to the old custom of making three ounce bagels by hand the way that they always were.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/31/dining/was-life-better-when-bagels-were-smaller.html