History of Rapa, the King of Scrapple

Rapa ScrappleBridgeville, DE – Scrapple is one of those things that if you overthink, you lose the appetite.

As a child in 1970s Virginia, it was served in fashionable suburban houses in the 1970s. The dish is primarily German derived, and is usually some mixture of offal, or meat scraps.

Good scrapple for breakfast is usually pan fried, and tastes good with eggs and bacon. It is more of a mid-Atlantic dish, and not so much deep South, though others may disagree. The crust, in bacon grease, makes it easier to eat because the texture isn’t chewy. It’s crisp.

Marion Cabell Tyree’s Housekeeping in Old Virginia has numerous recipes for what to do with pork parts, including an astounding souse cheese. Tyree writes “one head and a dozen ears make a good sized cheese.”

However, it does not have scrapple. That being said, the idea of taking pork parts, combining them with corn flour and spices and frying it, was part of life before the supermarket.

The main scrapple brand is, of course, Rapa, named for the brothers Ralph and Paul Adams (hence RA-PA) of Bridgeville, Delaware. In 1926, the two brothers from founded RAPA Scrapple.

The RAPA plant is still in Bridgeville, where the company was founded. In the last century, it has become the leading brand of scrapple.

Their recipe for the pork product has been used since the early 1920s when they developed it, and has not changed.

The meat product is one of a group of meat classics from the mid-Atlantic that are still unique, independent brands. There is for instance, the Taylor Pork Roll or John Taylor’s Original Pork Roll, made by Taylor Provisions of Trenton, N.J., and the Steak Ummm, made by Quaker Made Meats of Reading, Penn.

Author

  • Garland Pollard

    J. Garland Pollard IV is editor/publisher of BrandlandUSA. Since 2006, the website BrandlandUSA.com has chronicled the history and business of America’s great brands.

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