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?

Spicy Clove and Winter Memories

It's been a very snowy winter here on the east coast. It reminds me of when I was a kid, when the snow seemed piled as high as mountains. We lived next door to my grandfather’s bakery, and there was nothing as wonderful as playing in the snow while smelling the tantalizing, warming spices of cinnamon buns and spice cakes being baked while building a snow fort.

Cinnamon is often the first that comes to mind when thinking of those lovely winter spices. It is one of my favorites. But cloves are right up there - warming, fragrant and tangy. And so good for you, too.

Cloves (Eugenia carophyllata), are the flower buds of a tropical tree that is kin to allspice. The tree is native to the Molucca (Spice) Islands.

This popular spice serves an array of purposes in the kitchen, the medicine cabinet, and aromatically.

Whole cloves look like little tacks or nails. But don’t let the size deceive you, they are pungent and strong.

The fragrance of clove is said to reduce stress and improve concentration. I love putting just a few drops of clove essential oil in my diffuser. You don’t need much to have that spicy fruity scent fill the air. It seems to make the air feel cleaner. It probably does since cloves are antibacterial, antifungal, antihistaminic, anti-infectious – and so very much more.

Mix clove with citrus, and you get an unbeatable combination. It’s easy to create that scent any time with a so simple to make Pomander.

For a Pomander you need a jar of cloves and a citrus of your choice. Most people use oranges. But you can use lemons, Clementine’s, limes, and I guess even a grapefruit - but that would be a very big project and need a very big jar of cloves.

When I make a pomander, I take a straight pin or pushpin and mark out where I’ll put the cloves on the citrus fruit. This can be rather juicy, so make sure to do it over a dish or bowl. Some people make patterns; others (like me) cover the citrus with cloves. Once I’ve marked the spots, I start adding the cloves. Just push the long part in and leave the tack part on the surface. Once you’re done, add a ribbon around it and hang it up! The citrus will dry with the cloves and will tighten up. The fragrance lasts for years.

Chinese and traditional Ayurvedic healers have, for centuries, used cloves for a number of ailments and issues. These include indigestion, nausea, gout, respiratory issues and parasites.

Clove oil eases the pain of toothaches. The most common practice is to mix just a drop or two of clove essential oil with a carrier oil (like vegetable or grape seed) and rub it on to the sore area. The straight clove essential oil might be too strong, but I do know a few people who have used it that way. They really had bad toothaches. I usually add three drops to a table spoon of vegetable oil, and then use a cotton swab to rub it into the affected area. Works like a charm for me. However, I wouldn’t recommend this for teething infants, even diluted it might feel to hot on their baby gums.

Have you ever seen a ham that wasn’t studded with cloves? I rarely have. This spice is a wonderful addition to savory dishes as well as sweet. It’s a must for pickling, and pumpkin pie wouldn’t be the same without clove. It’s part of the tangy Chinese 5 Spice, and essential in Chai Tea.

Cloves powers across the board make it an invaluable ally in kitchen or cabinet. We use cloves in our Tingles Lip Balm to add warmth and all it’s “anti’s” powers. It’s also in our Muscle Rubs to aid in circulation to sore muscles.

A snowy night, some Chai tea, a little Muscle Rub to soothe those aches and pains, and the fragrant embrace of clove to warm the heart and spirit bring back playful memories.