🥯
Bagel
ˈbeɪɡəl
Definitions
1
Food · Bread
Common
A ring-shaped bread roll with a dense, chewy texture, typically boiled before baking. Often topped with seeds or filled with cream cheese and other ingredients.
Used to represent bagels specifically or breakfast foods more generally in food-related conversations.
Just grabbed a 🥯 and coffee on my way to work.
Morning routine message
Sunday brunch menu: 🥯 🍳 🥑 🧀
Social media food post
Strongly associated with Jewish cuisine and New York City food culture, but now popular worldwide as a breakfast staple.
2
Food · Cultural
Uncommon
A symbol representing Jewish-American culture or New York City identity, beyond its literal meaning as a food item.
Sometimes used in cultural contexts to reference Jewish heritage or NYC lifestyle.
Born and raised in Brooklyn 🥯 🗽
Social media bio
The bagel emoji can function as a cultural shorthand for Jewish-American identity or New York City culture.
Evolution Timeline
2018
Added to Unicode 11.0 as part of food emoji expansion, reflecting growing global popularity of bagels.
Rising interest in breakfast foods and Jewish cuisine in digital culture.
2019
Became commonly used in breakfast and brunch-related social media posts.
Food photography trends on Instagram and food delivery app growth.
Cultural Context
Bagels originated in Jewish communities in Poland in the 17th century before becoming a staple of Jewish-American cuisine in the early 20th century.
New York-style bagels are considered the gold standard in America, characterized by their chewy interior and crisp exterior from being boiled then baked.
The bagel transitioned from an ethnic food to mainstream American staple in the latter half of the 20th century, symbolizing the integration of Jewish culture into American life.
Mass production techniques in the 1960s helped spread bagels beyond Jewish communities and New York, making them a national breakfast food.
Regional Variations
United Kingdom
Less culturally significant than in the US, viewed primarily as an American food item rather than a cultural symbol.
United States
Strongly associated with New York City and Jewish-American culture. Often depicted with cream cheese.
Generational Usage
Gen_X: Used more literally to represent actual bagels rather than as a cultural symbol. Common in family meal planning messages.
Gen_Z: Often used in food posts and breakfast stories on Instagram and TikTok. Associated with café culture and aesthetic food photography.
Older: Less frequently used, but when employed, typically represents literal bagels in food contexts with minimal symbolic meaning.
Millennials: Frequently used to represent weekend brunch culture and work breakfasts. Often paired with coffee emoji in morning routine texts.
Common Combinations
🥯🧀
Bagel with cream cheese, the classic combination.
References the most traditional way to eat bagels, especially in American culture.
🥯🍳
Breakfast or brunch featuring bagels.
Used to indicate morning meals or weekend brunch culture.
🥯🥑
Avocado bagel, representing millennial food trends.
Combines traditional bagels with trendy avocado toast concept.
🥯🐟
Bagel with lox (smoked salmon), a traditional Jewish combination.
References classic Jewish-American deli food.