In the Season of Everything Pumpkin ... It's all about the Spice

Although Halloween has past, the Season of Everything Pumpkin continues. After all, a staple of the Thanksgiving meal is the luscious rich finish with Pumpkin Pie. 

  Everywhere you turn you find Pumpkin Spice everything: Pumpkin Chai, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin spice muffins and breads and cookies, puddings, marshmallows, ice cream, yogurt, gum.... you name it and there's a pumpkin spice version of it. It makes you wonder though - is this frenzy really about the pumpkin? Or is it about the spice?

I love pumpkin, don't get me wrong. I have pumpkins all over my yard. Some turn into jack o'lanterns for Halloween. Others get roasted and then frozen. A few get chopped and added to stews or sauteed like other vegetables. Several of them get sliced and dried and ground to be used in some of our products as well as tossed into sauces and such.  Pumpkin is full of vitamins and nutrients, but on it's own it is not a strong flavored fruit. It needs a little something. These autumn gourds handle savory flavoring very well, like rosemary, garlic, and sage. But the biggest draw is for that sweet spicy zing.

 I really believe that most people aren't enamored of pumpkin so much as the spice blend typically associated with it. Most blends are a balance of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger. Maybe a dash of allspice or cardamom. Below is a basic recipe for Pumpkin Spice.

PUMPKIN SPICE BLEND
1/3 cup ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground clove
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg (or a mix of nutmeg and mace)

Mix everything together and store in an airtight container. Use the blend whenever pumpkin pie spice is called for. Or even apple pie spice.  Mix a teaspoon or two with some sugar or maple syrup and sprinkle over pancakes and waffles. Yum!

This blend is so warming on a chill autumn or winter night. These spices are part of so many things we associate with the warmth and coziness associated with the season. They help with digestion, ease pain, and improve circulation. All of those are important for the more insular, colder time of the year. Even the fragrance is a spirit lifter.

What do you think? Is the Season of Everything Pumpkin about the pumpkin? Or is it about the spice?