When I was a kid, I was sure there was a “someone” who was an “everyone.” If a certain group of us was sitting around, someone might walk in and say, “Hey, where’s everyone?” If there was another group of the same size, that person might walk in and say, “Hey, everyone.” Who’s “everyone”? Who’s the one person whose presence means that nothing, or no onepgasia, is missing?
I was reminded of this recently when using a jar of everything seasoning. In London, we’re still a step or two behind New York in terms of bagels, but the popularity of a few recent bakeries made me think everyone knew what “everything” blend was. Chatting with London friends, though, I saw that the lack of clarity was clear.
Recipe: Chopped Salad With Everything Bagel CroutonsFor those who don’t know, “everything” is actually well prescribed and rarely goes beyond five things: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, flaked sea salt, garlic or onion flakes or both. Back when bagel bakeries were really taking off in the 1970s and early 1980s in New York, these were each individual toppings. It was poppy or sesame, garlic or onion. The idea to mix them all together — to have one bagel with “everything” on it — is claimed by a few different people, but the name most often cited is David Gussin’s. Around 1980, a young Gussin was at work, cleaning out the ovens at a bagel shop in Queens, N.Y. Rather than throwing away all the seasonings that had fallen to the bottom, he collected them and piled them all onto a bagel. The “everything” bagel — everything Gussin had, crucially, not “anything” that anyone cares to think of — was born.
When it comes to spice blends, it’s not just everything seasoning that might confound. Take ras el hanout, for example, the North African spice mix I love to cook with. Although I have a blend that I think of as being ras el hanout, a mix of black pepper, cumin, coriander, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, maybe some turmeric and cayenne, everyone has a version of ras el hanout. In fact, the name translates to “head of the shop” or “top shelf,” and the mix is a combination of the spices that a particular shopkeeper or blender considers the best. (It can also differ greatly in makeup and number. On a trip to Morocco a decade ago, I met a market-stall owner who boasted more than 50 spices in his mix.)
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.pgasia