Enough with the Pumpkin Spice

What started off a few years innocently as a Starbucks seasonal frothy beverage has mushroomed out of control. The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte was introduced in 2003. You will now find your grocery store littered with pumpkin spice in about just every popular product. From September till the end of October, North America seems to go crazy with the Autumn spice. I think we reached the tipping point with pumpkin spice, enough is enough. There is way too much out there. Personally, I think it has become clickbait for the most outrageous food combos that manufacturers want to promote their year-long products by adding pumpkin spice. Just about restaurant or food establishment has added pumpkin spice to their menu. I hate entering the Christmas Tree Store or Bath and Body Works, it feels like your nose is swimming in pumpkin spice. The best part of the spice is that there is no pumpkin in it. It is a spice for pumpkin pies so that they taste better. Why not just call it the cinnamon spice?

Pumpkin pie spice, also known as pumpkin spice, is an American spice mix commonly used as an ingredient in pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie spice is similar to the British and Commonwealth mixed spice. It is generally a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and sometimes allspice. It can also be used as a seasoning in general cooking.

A recipe for this combination includes:

• 18 parts ground cinnamon
• 4 parts ground nutmeg
• 4 parts ground ginger
• 3 parts ground cloves
• 3 parts ground allspice.

“Does pumpkin spice even include pumpkin? Or is it simply cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla?” asks Jake Adelstein, a writer and journalist who has written extensively on organized crime and corruption in Japan. Adelstein grew up on a farm and his father raised pumpkins. He considers himself a “traditionalist” when it comes to pumpkin spice recipes. But even he has increasingly become skeptical of the American pumpkin spice industry. “Are we even getting authentic pumpkin spice when we want it?”

As of 2016, pumpkin spice consumables produce $500 million in annual sales. The spice is often referred to in the context of a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, with the company selling more than 200 million lattes between its launch and 2013, generating revenue of at least $80 million a year.

Pumpkin Spice (Web Exclusive): Last Week Tonight with John Oliver