Is New Jersey scrapple country?

We received an email from an avid Dennis & Judi show listener who just moved back to New Jersey after 40 years of living in Colorado. He said one of the joys of being back in New Jersey, other than listening to the Dennis & Judi show every day, was the pleasure of enjoying scrapple for breakfast. He said growing up in Hackensack his dad was a big fan of the stuff and they would have it for breakfast all the time. I was a little surprised, having always thought of it as a Philly or Pennsylvania Dutch food.

As it turns out, it's pretty popular here too, although maybe not among the health conscious. It's made from pork scraps, corn meal and buckwheat flour. New Jersey is listed as one of the mid-Atlantic states that eats scrapple along with Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

A quick Google search turned up dozens of eateries and food markets where it's available all over the Garden State. A few years ago, New Jersey based food blogger Greg Caggiano sang scrapple's praises in a tasty piece for the site Eating New Jersey. I'll be honest, I've only had it a few times and it was delicious. I just don't know too many people who eat it regularly or offer it on menus.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis's own.