Scrapple is not the Hasbro word game

more resources

Share This:

When I met my future husband at the ripe age of 17, one of the first things I made clear to him was that I needed to travel.

To put it plainly, "I get antsy, so I need to travel and see new things. I'm sorry, but this is how I was raised."

Of all the things we've bargained, compromised and surrendered in our almost 14 years together, this was something that was not up for negotiation. Considering out upcoming 10-year anniversary, you can imagine his compliance.

For my birthday weekend, I traveled to Philadelphia to meet up with two of my best girlfriends from college and visited my parents who recently moved there. Having only been to Philly as a child, I had no solid memories of the area. For all intensive purposes, it was my first experience in the City of Brotherly Love.

One thing I love in particular about traveling is trying new foods. My friends and I never eat at chain restaurants. Always local, always recommended by locals, and if possible, something we might have seen on Top Chef, The Travel Channel, or The Food Network. (Trust me, if you're ever in Savannah, it is worth the wait in line to eat at Lady & Sons. The same is true for The Maze in NYC. Reservations required.)

At the various restaurants where we ate this weekend, as well as in the latest issue of Philadelphia Magazine, there were a number of references to Scrapple. I overlooked it as something I didn't recognize, but after seeing that word again this morning, I thought, "Well what in the world is scrapple anyway?"

Pork mush. Or to steal a phrase, "everything but the oink."

(...thanking my lucky stars I went with the salmon Saturday night.)

Scrapple gained its popularity among the Pennsylvania Dutch, as it was no doubt created as a resourceful way to utilize every part of the pig (quite literally). Basically, scrapple is an anatomical meatloaf, head and body parts boiled down and congealed by bone marrow and other scraps, then minced, cooked down, shaped and re-cooked.

Yum.

Well, for much of Philly and surrounding area, it is beloved local fare. And though I like to think of myself as a foodie, there are some foods I just can't try. That adventure is for the Tony Bourdains of the world.

Anyone for a game of Scrabble?

by Jennie Treadway-Miller

Jennie was a columnist for the Chattanooga Times Free Press for eight years prior to moving to Amarillo in 2008. She is an avid reader, runner and writer.