Contrary to the belief that Bagels and Lox were first contrived by the Jewish people, this delicious concoction made its way to America in the early 20th century by the Scandinavian fishermen as they immigrated through New York’s Ellis Island.
Homes did not have refrigerators, and in both countries, the saltwater brining required for lox made it possible to preserve the delicate flesh of the salmon. For the Jews, lox, once tasted, became a delicacy.
In 1934, in the Waldorf Hotel in New York, a man by the name of Lemuel Benedict ordered two poached eggs on top of buttered toast and crispy bacon with a heaping spoonful of hollandaise sauce to be poured on top. The Head Chef at the time loved it and made it a staple of his menu.
The Jews reinvented the lox by using bagels instead of toast and adding cream cheese instead of bacon and sauce. This new creation was quickly added to the tables of Jewish households.
Lox generally refers to salmon from the Pacific Ocean that has been cured in a saltwater brine. New York had this salmon in brine hauled across the country in gigantic salt baths.
Smoked salmon, when lox is not available, was, and still is, used for the cream cheese and bagel. Both textures are entirely different with the lox being smooth and silky and sliced paper thin.
My hubby and I each Sunday morning would frequent the Oak Tree Deli in the Westlake Village shopping center in Ventura County. Friends knew where to find us and often there would be six or eight of us eating lox and bagels together while washing this down with a glass (or two) of mimosas. Nothing could taste better for breakfast on a Sunday morning!
This last week I had friends joining me for a Sunday brunch and I began my search for fresh lox, deli style and NOT in a package.
I began by asking neighbors on the Next-Door website. Well, everyone who responded wanted to know as well. After a few days of waiting, I took a couple of suggestions as to where to find the best “packaged” lox. Costco and Trader Joes. My pick was Costco. However, much to my chagrin, Costco was not selling lox. Not available, says their website as well.
I then tried the Alaskan Fisheries website. $39 for 16 oz. and $39 for shipping. If I ordered one pound I would have to shell out over $80 and that would barely serve four people. Back to Costco.
Local markets—Ben Lomond Market, Wild Roots and Safeway. All markets averaged $9 for 3 oz. (cold packed) package. I needed 12 oz. $36 big ones.
The quality was “iffy.” Sliced so thin and hard to separate. Weak flavors and hard to recognize as quality lox. One package said “smoked” salmon lox.
I believe true lox, aside from places with a greater Jewish population, will be impossible to find. Oh my, how I miss the quality Jewish deli of my past.
I have purchased a 12 oz. piece of packaged “smoked” salmon to grace my bagel with cream cheese. Topped with a slice of red onion and juicy tomato, I really can’t complain. Unless you have had the “real thing,” you will enjoy this combo.
Oy vey!
Colly Gruczelak, a Ben Lomond resident, loves people and loves to cook. Contact her at cz****@*****st.net.
