What Is Scrapple?

Also known by the Pennsylvania Dutch name, pon haus (which translates literally to “pan hare” or rabbit), scrapple is said to have been invented by 17th and 18th-century German colonists who settled near Philadelphia and Chester County, Pennsylvania. As a result, you’ll find scrapple as a regional favorite in the rural areas near Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and eastern Virginia.

Created so that hungry, hard-working, prudent rural immigrants could make use of all manner of foodstuffs, scrapple originally consisted of a mixture of pork scraps (head, brains, heart, liver, skin) and other trimmings, boiled with bones attached for flavor (later discarded when a suitable broth was achieved). It was then simmered with cornmeal, wheat flour or sometimes buckwheat flour, onions, and spices like sage and thyme.

How Is Scrapple Served?

Formed into loaves and pan-fried, scrapple was typically served at breakfast with apple butter, ketchup, mustard, honey, or maple syrup. While today’s scrapple – available primarily in Mid-Atlantic area grocery stores – adheres to different standards using FDA-approved animal anatomy, it is still a tasty tradition popularly served alongside sunnyside-up eggs and toast. With the current trend in lighter, healthier eating, scrapple is also known in a later incarnation to be made with turkey instead of pork components – or with beef for a different flavor entirely. Scrapple is also appearing more and more on the menus of heritage-based restaurants in Brooklyn, NY, and other places.

Lead image by Stu Spivak, Wikimedia Commons

Though it takes a little time and patience, why not try these recipes and surprise family and guests with an established Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast treat?

Turkey Scrapple

A great way to use up leftover holiday turkey for brunch the next day!

Traditional Scrapple

Turkey Scrapple

Beth Herman is a freelance writer with interests in healthy living and food, family, animal welfare, architecture and design, religion, and yoga. She writes for a variety of national and regional publications, institutions, and websites.

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