The History Of Pumpkin Spice

Some readers will love this story while others will be outraged that we dare to mention pumpkin spice in August!

Like it or not, pumpkin spice lattes return to Starbucks today (August 24^th) for its 20^th anniversary! It’s the coffee giant’s most popular seasonal beverage, with hundreds of millions sold since its launch in 2003. Once we finished weeping about this annual sign of the end of the summer, we started wondering: What exactly is pumpkin spice???

According to Better Homes and Gardens, pumpkin spice doesn’t actually include any…pumpkin. Instead, it’s a tasty blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. It got its name because it is traditionally used to flavor pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkin spice dates back to the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch took control of the Spice Islands (now part of Indonesia) in the early 17th century. Access to the spices inspired the Dutch to create blends such as speculaaskruiden, which is similar to pumpkin spice but also has cardamom and sometimes white pepper. The popularity of speculaaskruiden in Netherlands desserts led to the spices moving across borders.

By 1791, a similar blend called “mixed spices” showed up in The Practice of Cookery, written by a Scottish author only known as “Mrs. Frazer.” Mrs. Frazer’s blend was called “mixed spices,” and included nutmeg, clove, and “Jamaica pepper.” She suggested that the blend be used to season flounder or mutton chops. Some things should never include pumpkin spice…but we’ll get to that in a minute!

By 1796, the spice blend made it to North America. The first known cookbook to be written by an American, American Cookery by Amelia Simmons, includes a pumpkin spice blend containing mace, nutmeg, and ginger.

Now, who doesn’t love pumpkin pie? Pumpkins are one of the earliest domesticated crops on earth and known recipes date back to 1675. McCormick, the world’s largest spice seller, introduced a spice mix branded as “pumpkin pie spice” to America in 1934 in response to the invention of pureed canned pumpkin. (Try it – it’s not too bad!) Since then – cooks have added a dash of pumpkin spice to every dish that’s a fall favorite…even when they shouldn’t. We think this may have been a tragic mistake:

Yes. Pumpkin spice Spam is a real thing. We’re horrified.

And what is this???

Pumpkin spice Listerine should not be a thing. Not ever.

Comedian John Oliver once called pumpkin spice lattes “the coffee that tastes like a candle.” There’s also a Facebook group called “I Hate Pumpkin Spice” that posts hilarious albeit stomach-turning pics of pumpkin spice products that should never have seen the light of day.