Scrapple is healthy in moderation, although scrapple can also be unhealthy when eaten in excess.
Scrapple is rich in nutrients and contains protein, zinc, iron and vitamin B12 and is also low in carbohydrates, which makes it suitable for people on keto diets and low carb diets.
Scrapple is also a great resourceful fish which uses up leftover pork scraps.
Although scrapple is also high in saturated fat, contains processed meats and may contain some organ meats which can be unhealthy.
The high saturated fat in scrapple can raise your cholesterol levels and the processed meats including scrapple can increase your risk of heart disease and some types of cancer if eaten in excess.
Scrapple is a dish that was brought to the region by German immigrants and although scrapple is associated closely with Pennsylvania Dutch traditions, it's popularity is also celebrated across the Delmarva Peninsula and areas that surround Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Scrapple can include pig brains as it's traditionally made out of various pork scraps, meat trimmings and offal and can include the snout, liver heart and sometimes brains.
Some scrapple may not have the brains but some might have.
Scrapple is basically a mixture of pork trimmings and organs including the liver and heart and other bits and also contains a porridge like base that is made from cornmeal or sometimes buckwheat flour and seasonings such as salt, pepper, sage and bay leaves are also used.
The various pork parts are then boiled to create a rich broth and the meat is then removed from the bones and then ground down into smaller pieces.
The ground meat and the broth are then mixed with cornmeal or buckwheat flour and spices and cooked into a mush and the mixture is then poured into loaf pans, where it then cools and sets and slices are then cut from the loaf and pan fried until crispy.
The southern name for scrapple is livermush.
Livermush is a dish that is prominent in North Carolina and other parts of the South which includes pork liver and is also thickened with cornmeal.
Livermush is a very similar dish to scrapple but they are different.
Although both livermush and scrapple are made from cornmeal and pork scraps, livermush most specifically includes pork liver in it's recipe.
And pork liver is often optional or even absent in other regional scrapple recipes and varieties.
Scrapple also has strong ties to the Philadelphia region and Pennsylvania Dutch communities and livermush is considered a Southern dish and most particularly a North Carolinian dish.
Livermush is also described as having a strong and dense flavor as a result of the inclusion of the pork liver.
Other similar dishes for scrapple and livermush are Goetta which is found in Ohio and substitutes oats for cornmeal as the binder.
Pon haus is the Pennsylvania Dutch name for scrapple.
And Souse and Head cheese are other similar dishes that involve preserved pork parts, although it's distinct from scrapple or livermush.