Everything about Scrapple totally explained
Scrapple is a savory
mush of
pork scraps and trimmings combined with
cornmeal and
flour, often
buckwheat flour. The mush is formed into a loaf, and slices of the scrapple are then
fried before serving. Scraps of meat left over from butchering, too small to be used or sold elsewhere, were made into scrapple to avoid waste. Scrapple is best known as a regional food of
Delaware,
South Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and
Maryland.
Composition
Scrapple is typically made of
hog offal, such as the head, heart, liver, and other scraps, which are boiled with any bones attached (often the entire head), to make a broth. Once cooked, bones and fat are discarded, the meat is reserved, and (dry) cornmeal is boiled in the broth to make a mush. The meat, finely minced, is returned, and seasonings, typically
sage,
thyme,
savory, and others are added. The mush is cast into loaves and allowed to cool thoroughly until gelled. The proportions and seasoning are very much a matter of the region and the cook's taste.
Commercial scrapple often contains these traditional ingredients, with a distinctive flavor to each brand. A few manufacturers have introduced beef and turkey varieties and color the loaf to retain the traditional coloration derived from the original pork liver base.
Vegetarian scrapple, made from
soy protein or
wheat gluten, is offered in some places. It is seasoned to be much sweeter than typical meat scrapple.
Preparation
Scrapple is typically cut into quarter-inch to three-quarter-inch slices, and pan-fried until browned to form a crust. It is sometimes first coated with flour. It may be fried in butter or oil and is sometimes deep-fried.
In composition, preparation, and taste, scrapple is similar to
white pudding, which is popular in the
British Isles.
Scrapple is usually eaten as a breakfast food, and can be served plain or with
apple butter,
ketchup, pancake syrup, or even mustard and accompanied by eggs. In some regions, such as
New England, scrapple is mixed with scrambled eggs and served with toast. In the Philadelphia area, scrapple is sometimes fried and then mashed with fried eggs, horseradish and ketchup.
History and regional popularity
Scrapple is arguably the first pork food invented in America. The culinary ancestor of scrapple was the
Low German dish called, which was adapted to make use of locally available ingredients. The first recipes were created more than two hundred years ago by Dutch colonists who settled near
Philadelphia and
Chester County, Pennsylvania in the
17th and
18th centuries.
Scrapple is strongly associated with
Philadelphia,
Baltimore,
Washington D.C. and surrounding eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware. Among the
Pennsylvania Dutch and in
Appalachia, scrapple is known as
pawn haas or
pon haus, a term hailing back to the old German dish. It can be found in most
supermarkets throughout the region in both fresh and frozen refrigerated cases. It can sometimes be found in frozen form in cities as far away as
Los Angeles.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Scrapple'.
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