I’m a New Yorker. Bagels mean the world to me. And since having to go gluten-free, I’ve been having to pass on not just toast, but English muffins and bagels too. Do you realize how much it pains me to pass on a bagel with peanut butter after a race? I am a bagel-fiend. I mean, I grew up in New York. New York does bagels right.
So, one day while shopping at the grocery store, I discovered Kinnikinnick’s brand of plain bagels. The packaging declares itself to be a Tapioca Rice New York Style bagel of sorts. Since I was familiar with the gluten-free company of Kinnikinnick, and the item was on closeout, I decided to pick up pack of them and give them a try. This would be my first foray into any sort of gluten-free bagel due to the sheer cost of these products. But on a closeout sale, I could totally swing it.
I was quite excited about giving these bagels a try the following morning with my breakfast. So, that morning, I pulled them from the freezer and pulled one out of the package. Immediately I noticed the size was all wrong. These were definitely much smaller than a standard bagel. My heart fell a little at that. I wanted as close to a real bagel experience as I could get…and already I felt slighted. Reminding myself that size doesn’t always matter, I split the bagel and popped each half into my toaster, getting them nice and toasty. When they emerged, they were lightly browned to perfection and I laid them out on a plate and lightly spread each side with a little jam.
Then…the moment of truth. My very first bite.
While it wasn’t a complete disappointment, I was not 100% sold on the texture. While it was certainly puffy with a moist crust, as New York-style bagels are known for…it didn’t really have the right kind of bite to it. And the texture didn’t taste like the heartiness one would expect from a bagel. It wasn’t a complete letdown, but it wasn’t what I really craved either.
All-in-all, the Kinnikinnick plain bagels are okay…if you simply want something bagel-like to satisfy a craving if you are no longer able to consume the real thing. It does its job in a pinch, but it just isn’t quite there yet as far as getting that bagel texture down. It comes right to the brink of getting it right.
Close, Kinnikinnick…you came so close. But this New Yorker needs real New York-style bagels…even gluten-free ones.
The Celiathlete 