Furikake VS Everything Bagel Seasoning
Everything Bagel Seasoning has been called the furikake of America, and they are two popular seasonings used in cooking. But what’s the difference?
Furikake is a Japanese seasoning made from dried seaweed, sesame seeds, salt, sugar, and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Everything Bagel Seasoning is a blend of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. They both bring strong sesame seed flavor and saltiness to dishes.
Let’s take a closer look at these two seasonings and find out how they differ.
It’s also why they both can taste great on just about anything from plain rice to well….bagels.
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What is furikake?
Furikake is a popular Japanese seasoning made from a blend of dried seaweed, sesame seeds, salt, sugar, and it can have a lot of different ingredients. It means “to sprinkle on top” in Japanese and so it can have different flavors, it isn’t a set recipe.
A lot of furikake has dried fish in it to give it a salty flavor. You can also have some wasabi in it to give it spiciness. The sesame seeds and dried seawed are pretty much a must in the mix though.
It’s often used to flavor plain rice or as a topping for sushi.
What is everything bagel seasoning?
Everything bagel seasoning is a set recipe. It’s a blend of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. This seasoning is modeled after the popular everything bagel flavor.
It was created in the States when making the everything bagel and was so popular it is now its own spice mix.
How does the flavor differ?
Furikake seasoning will have a saltier flavor due to the seaweed and fish. It can also be more savory with the addition of MSG. Everything bagel seasoning is more spicy with onion and garlic powder.
You can always use furikake to make sort of an everything bagel. It wouldn’t taste exactly the same of course, but furikake has been known to be used on sandwiches anyway so it is a nice flavor to add to your bagel.
You can also use the everything bagel seasoning on plain rice or other rice dishes as you would furikake. You wouldn’t get the exact flavor but it is going to be delicious. The flavor is a lot stronger than the Japanese would add to their dishes with the addition of garlic and onion. So perhaps use a little less of it and taste test.
Popularity over time
Furikake and everything bagel have always been evenly popular when looking at how often they are searched for, following the same pattern of become slightly more popular over the years.
But in 2017, the everything bagel suddenly became more popular. It was a small surge in searches, getting a bigger spike in 2018, then in 2019, and in 2020 it just blew up.
Furikake vs Everything Bagel Popularity Per Quarter
In 2022, the hype seemed to be over and now everything bagel is just slightly more popular than furikake.
Conclusion
In conclusion, furikake and everything bagel seasoning are both great seasonings that can be used in a variety of dishes. They have different flavors but they both add saltiness and a strong sesame seed flavor to food.
You can use either one interchangeably depending on what you have available or what you’re craving.
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Bitemybun's family recipes with complete meal planner and recipe guide.
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Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.
