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My grandfather was a tinkerer, as most good grandpas are, and started making his own scrapple. The recipes were written down- plural, because it was never exactly the final draft and because it would change slightly every year as he tinkered with it. He’d give everyone a block of it at Christmas, and it was a staple of everyone’s holiday to have some Pop Scrapple. There was usually enough black pepper in it to clear out any respiratory issues that the holiday may have brought your way.

When his Alzheimer’s finally rendered him incapable of making it anymore, my grandma gave me a folder of the recipes to make sense of. (She was counting on my profession and the fact that I’m the eldest grandchild). I’ve been in charge of making the Christmas scrapple for almost a decade- even though we lost my grandpa a few years ago, my versions got his blessing. And just like him, I don’t make it the same every year, but it always tastes right.

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I love the idea of Christmas Scrapple.

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TBH, I couldn't get past the first sentence. Scrapple is one of those things that you hear so much negative that you almost imagine it tasting awful, it's probably no more harmful than Skyline, though.

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Please keep the comments positive.

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No negativity intended, sorry. This is one of those menu options that I would love to try just to see if the stories I've heard were wrong (examples include brussels sprouts, fruitcake, black licorice). Given my omnivorous palate, I seriously believe I would find it enjoyable, especially if it were prepared by someone who knew how and loved to make it.

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Brussels sprouts are fascinating. I mean, it was a huge leap when we learned as a society that they should be roasted instead of boiled, but I recall reading recently that modern Brussels sprouts genuinely are less bitter than the ones of a generation ago.

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This might be a fun newsletter topic to run with, "foods that got a bad rep through no fault of their own".

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For what it’s worth, scrapple has a lot in common with hot dogs- everyone assumes it’s some mystery meat hellscape and it’s kind of just…meat (and, in scrapple’s case, corn meal and some buckwheat).

At least locally, it’s a side option at IHOP if you want a low risk way to try it.

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