Happy National Scrapple Day (well almost, its Sunday, November 9)! We can’t believe that this amazing piece of breakfast meat has been around for almost 3 centuries. History shows that scrapple was invented back in the 1700s, when the Pennsylvania Dutch settled in Lancaster County. These farmers believed that all parts of the pig should be used and more importantly, eaten. Quickly though… it was brought a little further down South where the scrapple we know, was born.
Scrapple.
We all love it, well at least the majority of us that were born and raised on Delmarva do. Although, it’s not only associated with us, (although we like to think that it is…) it has ties to rural areas surrounding Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Eastern Virginia and the Delmarva Peninsula. We’d say it’s biggest in Bridgeville, Delaware though, they even hold a festival each fall known as the Apple Scrapple Festival where you can feast, celebrate the founding of the breakfast meat, and pick up enough to last you the rest of your life!
The original brand from good ole’ Delaware was founded in the 1926, known as Rapa Scrapple. Two brothers named Ralph and Paul Adams from Bridgeville, Delaware founded the Rapa Scrapple manufacturing plant. The duo joined their names for RAPA (Get it, RAlph and PAul!?) How it’s made… let’s not sugar coat it, we all know what it really is… leftover scraps of pork that are chopped and boiled then blended with spices and flour. Once pressed into a loaf pan, it’s converted into a rectangle then cut into slices and pan fried golden brown and crispy. (VERRRRRY CRISPY.) Scrapple is usually served alongside pancakes, waffles, eggs or toast and served on the side. Many Delmarvians eat it slathered in ketchup, maple syrup or yes, we’ve even seen it eaten with grape jelly. Or you can put it between two pieces of white bread and make a scrapple sandwich. Today, RAPA is still located in Bridgeville and is the largest producer of scrapple in the world. Along with other smaller, yummy brands such as Habbersett Strapple (Media, PA), Hughes Scrapple (Felton, DE), and tons of local farms that have created their own unique recipe.
Today is a great day to try scrapple for the first time if you’ve never had it before, and if you are tried and true to the delicacy that is scrapple… Happy Scrapple Day!
