has been claimed to strengthen the gluten in the bagel dough, helping to create the chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside bagel that represents a New York-style bagel. Christopher Pugliese, owner of a popular bagel shop in the East Village attributes the New York-style bagel's signature taste to "100% the water". The use of New York City water in a bagel has been compared to the terroir of grape varietals used to make champagne. Conversely, Peter Shelsky, co-owner of Shelsky's Brooklyn Bagels firmly believes that it is not the water. According to Mr. Shelsky, "New Jersey and Long Island, both are dotted with fantastic NY style bagels. Both New Jersey and Long Island have different water supplies, and that water has vastly different composition to that of New York City proper. A great bagel with the right texture can be made anywhere. It's not the water. It's the know-how." However, the use of New York tap water in the bagel-making process may not be the only reason for the difference in texture and flavor in a NY bagel compared to other styles of bagel, according to Josh Polack, owner of a bagel shop in Denver, Colorado which tries to mimic the water used in New York-style bagels: Preparation A New York-style bagel is always boiled in water that has had barley malt added, which gives a bagel its signature taste, texture, and leathery skin. The bagels are then traditionally topped with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried onion or garlic, or everything bagel seasoning, or are left plain or brushed with an egg wash. These are the traditional flavors of NY style bagels, there are also newer, less traditional flavors such as rainbow, and other sweet bagels, but these originated in the 1950s and ’60s, and are not traditional and have been criticized by New Yorkers and members of the Jewish community, and have even been called a shonda. The bagels are then loaded onto burlap-covered cedar or pine boards which have been wetted down with water, or sometimes coated with cornmeal or semolina, and are then baked in the oven. Halfway through the cooking process, the baker takes the boards and flips the bagels over and removes the boards from the oven. The bagels are then removed and allowed to cool. Serving A fresh New York-style bagel is traditionally never toasted. Bagel with lox and schmear According to