The Mystery of “Everyone” and the Charm of Everything Seasoning
Credit…Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Heather Greene.
As a child, I often pondered the concept of “everyone.” In a room filled with friends, there was always that moment when someone would stroll in and say, “Hey, where’s everyone?” I was captivated by the idea that there was a singular presence, a “someone,” that could encapsulate the essence of the entire group. Who is this “everyone”? Who is the individual that, when present, signifies that nothing is amiss, that the group is complete?
This contemplation resurfaced recently while I was experimenting with a jar of everything seasoning. Living in London, I’ve come to realize that we still lag a bit behind New York when it comes to the bagel scene. However, the recent rise of a few fantastic bakeries had me assuming that everyone was familiar with the concept of “everything” blend. To my surprise, during conversations with friends here, it became evident that clarity was lacking.
Recipe: Chopped Salad With Everything Bagel Croutons
For those unfamiliar, the term “everything” actually refers to a precise blend of ingredients that typically includes five main components: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, flaky sea salt, and either garlic or onion flakes (or sometimes both). In the late 1970s and early 1980s, when bagel shops were beginning to flourish in New York, these toppings were traditionally served separately. You would have your choice of poppy or sesame, garlic or onion. The revolutionary idea of combining all these toppings into one bagel—what we now call the “everything” bagel—has a few claimants, but the name most frequently associated with its inception is David Gussin. Around 1980, a young Gussin was working at a bagel shop in Queens, New York. Instead of discarding the seasonings that had accumulated at the bottom of the oven, he decided to gather them all up and generously sprinkle them onto a single bagel. Thus, the famed “everything” bagel was born—a delightful concoction of everything that Gussin had on hand, crucially not “anything” that one might whimsically imagine.
When it comes to spice blends, it’s not just the everything seasoning that can be perplexing. Consider ras el hanout, a North African spice mixture that I have grown fond of using in my culinary adventures. While I have my own interpretation of ras el hanout—a mix that includes black pepper, cumin, coriander, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and perhaps a hint of turmeric and cayenne—each chef seems to have their unique version. In fact, the term translates to “head of the shop” or “top shelf,” which reflects the idea that this blend is a curated selection of the finest spices according to a particular shopkeeper or blender. The makeup and number of spices can vary dramatically; during a trip to Morocco a decade ago, I encountered a market stall owner who proudly claimed to have over 50 spices in his own special blend!
