Well, it’s that time of year again.
We’ve all seen the ads and we’ve all heard the commercials. Some of us can’t
stop talking about the elephant in the room, some bemoan that it seems to creep
earlier and earlier every cycle, and some just wish it were over. Whether you
anticipate or dread it, none of us can deny that now, in late-October 2016, we
are smack-dab in the middle of - pumpkin spice season.
Yes,
that’s right, pumpkin spice. Basically the best and most comforting flavor ever
to grace a dessert table. Or latte. Or beer. Or candle, soap, you name it. I am
unabashedly and firmly in the pro-pumpkin spice camp. Pumpkin spice has come to
be a hallmark of Autumn in the United States, though I wouldn’t mind pumpkin
spice being on the menu all year round. If you’re of the same mind, you should
know that the Dedham Square Coffee House has Pumpkin Spice Latte’s on the menu
all year, and they’re as fabulous in April as they are in October.
Some
however, claim that the pumpkin spice phenomenon has gone too far. After all,
pumpkin spice has spread far beyond the traditional Thanksgiving pumpkin pies
of yore, and has infiltrated nearly every aspect of Fall in the US. You can
find pumpkin spice lattes, chips, granola bars, tea, beer, muffins, cream
cheese, and much more.
A
strong argument can be made that Starbucks is chiefly responsibility for the
current pumpkin spice explosion.. The coffeehouse giant developed the Pumpkin
Spice Latte in 2004 to capitalize on the Fall season, having already had great
success with seasonal winter beverages such as Peppermint Mocha and Eggnog
Lattes. The recipe was an instant sensation, and more and more companies have
been jumping on the pumpkin spice band wagon ever since. For further discussion
and interesting tidbits about all things pumpkin spice, visit the Pumpkin Spice
Blog hosted by the University of Oregon.
Pumpkin
spice naysayers are also quick to point out that there’s not actually real
pumpkin in pumpkin spice products, and that you’re really just tasting cinnamon
and other spices. In fact the iconic Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte does now
include a small amount of pureed pumpkin, though, and the ingredient labels for
many other products do claim the inclusion of real pumpkin. Regardless, and I
assume I speak for many pumpkin spice lovers, we don’t care. Cinnamon,
allspice, cloves, and ginger are traditional pairings for pumpkin, as I
maintain the name “pumpkin spice” clearly implies. We’re after the pumpkin pie
flavor, and these products don’t disappoint.
Modern
Americans are not alone: apparently, no one has ever enjoyed the flavor of
plain unadulterated pumpkin. Even the earliest recorded recipes for pumpkin
advise the addition of savory or sweet ingredients. According to the book
“Vegetables: A Biography,” pumpkins and other squash were among the first crops
cultivated by humans. Prized in some cultures for their seeds and in others for
their flesh, squash have been an important part of the global diet for about as
long as we’ve been preparing food.
Given the late harvest for pumpkins
and the fact that they overwinter so well, they were an important staple in
Colonial America. A 1672 recipe for stewed pumpkin, originally recorded by John
Josselyn, is reprinted in the book, “Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving Recipes and
History, from Pilgrims to Pumpkin Pie.” Pumpkin pie as we think of it today was
probably not served at the first Thanksgiving feast however, since the ovens
necessary for baking pie crusts were not available in the colonies at that
time. According to the What’s Cooking America website, the first recorded
“modern” pumpkin pie recipe appeared in a cookbook by famous French chef
Francois Pierre la Varenne in 1651, “The True French Cook.”
We
all have different tastes, and I don’t expect to make any converts with this
brief article. However, pumpkins and their spices have always been part of our
cultural diet, and our heritage. You could choose to see pumpkin spice as a
symptom of aggressive marketing in a consumerist culture - or you could see it
as a tasty act of patriotism.
