I've been talking quite a bit about that meat-which-I-hate, scrapple.
Well, one of my readers, Mark, chimed in with some really amazing information on what I had assumed was a Pennsylvania Dutch (and therefore German in origin) food:
Short background, I was born and raised in York, graduated from Central and now live in Austria. I love this blog to keep me somewhat up to date on York. To the 'meat' of this post...Believe it or not, even though the German settlers are credited with 'bringing' the scrapple recipe with them, no one, and I mean NO ONE here in Austria or those I know in germany for that fact,know of or even ever heard of scrapple. I even mentioned pon haus and they looked at me like I was crazy. This being said, I finally found a few good recipes to try and after my first batch, actually have some converts here. Amazing isn't it? A Yorker, introducing an assumed German dish to German/Austrian folks...and they love it!!! Thanks for the blog. I think I am going to make my next batch this weekend and eat it the way it is supposed to be eaten, thin, crispy and with King Syrup!
King Syrup? Wow, as much as I loved Mark's comment, I don't love his taste... I think he just made a bad thing worse!
So, scrapple fans... what IS the cultural origin of your mixed meat? And what on earth do you put on it? Ketchup? Syrup? Something equally gross? Discuss.
Scrapple is good as-is. It is also good when eaten for breakfast with eggs and pancakes...some maple syrup as well. But honestly sometimes I just eat it without any other foods. It just tastes soooooooooooooo good!
Au contraire. Check out what Global Gourmet has to say about Rhineland, Germany farmers who "worked hard and ate heartily." And the German immigrants who combined their German heritage with "New World" ingredients. And this from www.answers.com: "The culinary ancestor of scrapple was the Low German dish called Panhaus." WIKIPEDIA: Pan haus was adapted to make use of locally available ingredients. It may be one of the first pork foods created in America.
Did they not have pigs in Germany? Did the German immigrants come to Amnerica so they'd have pigs to butcher so they could add scraps to their meatless pan haus? Although scrapple itself may not have originated in Germany it is German in every way.
As for what goes with scrapple or how to eat it--just about anything goes. Even, of all things, ketchup! Personally, I like mine with Giant Food's own brand of syrup that has a tad of pure maple syrup in it.
I couldn't agreemore with Doug. Scrapple does not need any enchancements. Cook it crispy on the outside, slightly soft on the inside. Nothing more, nothing less. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Scrapple rocks. I could eat Scrapple every day.
Ok, I found out some more about Scrapple!
Doing a Wiki-search for Panhas and translating the info, I have some very interesting info for all of you that are interested! Panhas IS a German recipe from the Westfall/Rheinland regions, includes (regionally) pork, bacon and/or beef 'bits' and is cooked with salt, papper, spices and flour to a slurry. The slurry is cooled but not gelled and then, hold your nose, blood is added. This slurry is then introduced into a sausage skin. The result is called a variety of names here - Blutwurst (blood sausage), Hackfleisch (ground meat (without the skin - kinda like puddin) or Leberwurst (literally liverwurst). It is eaten cold or cooked (like scrapple is cooked) and served with grilled onions, salt potatos (kinda like a potato salad) and or sauerkraut.
So in reality, the origins are German. This is an old recipe, and not normally favored by today's generations. Blutwurst is readily available at butchers but the name Panhas has somewhat been phased out (atleast in Austria and parts of Germany).
I apologize for any unsettling chills I caused by saying scrapple was not German. In origin, it is and yes the immigrantsmodified it with what was available to make it what is is to us today. I hope this clears the air a little for you all and will be chiming in from time to time.
Lastly, King Syrup and scrapple, salty and sweet, gotta love our tastes!!!
Mark
According to Habbersetts, a well-known manufacturer of scrapple, it was invented not by Pennsylvania Dutch (who were really German) but by true Dutch, from Holland, who were the earliest settlers of the region around Philadelphia (Cf. New Netherland).
http://www.habbersettscrapple.com/history.html
I a descendant of (also a chef by trade) people who fled from of Eisenhart, Germany in the early 1700's. They settle north of Philly, in the Leigh Valley. These people brought with them recipes for(head cheese) sous. Which is found all over Europe and Canada.
My Great Grammy Eisenhart would make sous and then split the batch in half. The one half she would mix corn meal and buck wheat flour into to make scrapple. They probably did this to keep it preserved longer in the early day without refrigeration.
I doubt you will fin this in Europe since corn meal and buck wheat flour are pretty much American. Currently I live in upstate NY and I miss scrapple. So I make my own