The Origins Of Salmon And Cream Cheese

Glance over any modern brunch menu, and you'll likely find a bagel and lox option on prominent display. Restauranteurs might give it a clever name or dress it up with garnishes and toppings — but the essential elements remain: A bagel topped with cured salmon and cream cheese. The warm heartiness of the bagel, the salty smokiness of the lox, and the velvety richness of the cream cheese come together as one tasty meal. But the balanced flavor of bagel, salmon, and cream cheese isn't why this combination came to be.

As with many longstanding dishes, the origin of the bagel-cream-cheese-and-lox pairing is somewhat murky, and as with many misunderstood American cuisines, the history isn't fully appreciated. There isn't a name or a restaurant to credit with its creation nor an exact date to begin its story. However, most historians can at least agree on a setting. The bagel, cream cheese, and lox combo began in turn-of-the-century New York City in the Jewish community.

Now, bagels weren't born and bred (bread?) in New York City; their origin can be traced back to Jewish bakers in the 13th century in what is now Poland. Lox (which, it's worth mentioning, is different from smoked salmon) came from Scandinavia and Native Americans when fishers learned how to best preserve their catch. Cream cheese is a New Yorker at heart, though — or at least an upstate New Yorker. The inventor is said to be William Lawrence, who began making cream cheese in the late 1800s. However, the product quickly made its way to Brooklyn, where it was manufactured by Jewish brothers Isaac and Joseph Bregstein, who were Lithuanian immigrants.

The combination of these ingredients arose in the early 1900s as more a product of a community's struggle than a chef's ingenuity. At this time in New York history, many in the Jewish community lived in crowded tenement buildings without easy access to running water or refrigeration. This was a difficult environment in which to maintain Jewish culinary traditions and laws, but the bagel and lox offered a Sabbath solution. The Laws of Shabbat include refraining from cooking between sundown on Friday and sundown on Saturday, but kosher bagels and lox don't need to be cooked to be eaten.

Bagels were already popular at the turn of the century, following many Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe to the U.S. But the inclusion of lox, which is a cut of salmon preserved in salt, was very intentional. Since the tenements allowed little access to refrigeration, using a protein that could be stored without the need for constant chill was crucial.

Fish is also pareve, which means it can be eaten with either dairy or meat in the Jewish diet, so a cream cheese schmear was perfectly acceptable. And there aren't as many laws governing fish's preparation. Kosher meat can only come from certain parts of certain animals, which must be slaughtered and prepared in a certain way. Whole kosher fish was more accessible, and it wouldn't require visiting one of those classic, storied Jewish delis, as even many products from non-Jewish establishments would meet the standards. So the ingredients weren't difficult to find.

Despite an origin centered on necessity, bagels, lox, and cream cheese have endured together through the generations and spread far beyond the Jewish community. Although traditionally served with red onion and capers, you'll find many variations on modern menus nationwide. And if you find yourself particularly devoted to the dish, you can celebrate its delicious longevity during National Bagels and Lox Day on February 9.