FACTS AND INFO

GRAINS OF TRUTH

WHEAT is the most widely distributed creal grain in the world. Flour from wheat is used in almost all baked goods, pasta and cereal. Dietary Guidelines for Americans (MyPyramid.gov) emphasize that grain - especially whole grains are associated with lower rates of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers and may help with better weight conrol. Whole grain foods are made with flour that contains all three parts of the kernel: the bran, germ and endosperm. White flour milled from the endosperm of the wheat kernel is used to make white bread.

FIBER is also called bulk or roughage. It is the indigestible part of plant foods. It contains almost no energy or calories but it is important for a healthy diet. Grain products are a good source of fiber. There are two forms of fiber - soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber forms a gel when mixed with liquid. Insoluble fiber passes through your digestive tract largely intact. Both types of fiber help maintain regularity. Soluble fiber is found in white flour products like white bread, plain bagels. Soluble fiber may lower blood cholesterol in some people when eaten as part of a low-fat diet, thus decreasing the risk for heart disease. Soluble fiber can help control blood sugar. However, diabetics should follow a high fiber diet only under medical supervision. Insoluble fiber found in foods such as wheat bran, other whole grains and vegetables. (above information gleaned from the North Dakota Wheat Commission)

BLACK HILLS BAGELS - WIFM?

What's in 'em for me?

Bagels are a great source of energy for most people. Black Hills Bagels are low fat and no cholesterol. There are no oils, butters, milk or eggs used in our bagels (except for the Chocolate Chunk, Peanut Better Chip, White Chocolate and Vanilla Nut which contain chocolate chips, of course). Black Hills Bagels are made from hard, spring wheat. South Dakota grows some Hard Spring Wheat but most of it is grown in North Dakota and Montana.

The high gluten (2 proteins found in wheat) flour we use is milled in North Dakota. We do not put any preservatives or enhancers in our products. Our bagels are mostly water, flour and yeast! Okay...a little more than that.  For more information on Nutrition, go to our Black Hills Bagels Nutrition Page.

GOT CREAM CHEESE?

Bagels and Cream Cheese go together like ham and eggs, cake and frosting, shoes and socks, cowboys and horses! They're all good things by themselves but even better paired up! That's why Black Hills Bagels also takes tremendous pride in our gourmet cream cheeses.

We offer over 18 flavors of delicious, specially blended cream cheeses. We use real fruit in our Strawberry, Raspberry and Blueberry cream cheeses. We cut up our own fresh veggies for the Veggie, Cucumber Dill and Onion and Chive cream cheeses. Like our bagels, we don't put any preservatives or enhancers in our cream cheeses.(click on our menu button of the flavors , sizes and prices)

WHAT IS CREAM CHEESE ANYWAY?

Cream Cheese is a soft, mild-tasting, white cheese made with whole milk and enriched with cream. Cream cheese is not naturally matured and is meant to be consumed fresh and so it differs from other soft cheeses such as Brie and Neufchatel. Cream cheese has been a part of European life since 1583 in England and as early as 1651 in France. Kraft Foods, an American food processing company reports the first American cream cheese was made in Chester New York in 1872 by American dairyman William Lawrence. In 1880 Philadelphia was adopted as the brand name after the city that was considered at the time to be the home of top quality food in the USA.

WHAT CAME FIRST? THE BAGEL OR THE CREAM CHEESE?

Cream cheese post dates the bagel by about 200 years according to Columbia University.