What Would America Be Like Without Pumpkin Spice?

What would America be like without pumpkin spice? Probably like France without baguettes, camembert, and Bordeaux—or like Germany without the Autobahn, beer, and Bratwurst. According to the Nielsen Company, sales of pumpkin-spice items have grown almost 80% from 2011. Simultaneously, sales of real pumpkins dropped by nearly $9 million. America, what are you actually eating when you buy pumpkin-spice flavored treats, Pringles, or gum?

This will be my third Halloween in the United States, and each year I fall more in love with this celebration. Last year, I dedicated a post to Halloween spending. Now, I just wonder how many pumpkin-spice products there are at the supermarket. The trend reappeared faithfully a few weeks ago, and I have the feeling it is getting worse.

There are pumpkin spice dog treats. Pumpkin Spice Panettone. Pumpkin spice butter. Pumpkin spice yogurt. Pumpkin spice pasta. Pumpkin spice  pancake, cream, cupcake, bar, cookies. Etc. Etc.

Don’t misunderstand me—I really like Halloween, the fall, red and yellow leaves, hot cocoa after a walk in the woods, and a good movie on a chilly Sunday afternoon. While living in Germany, we used to do these activities every fall and winter.

How did the hype start?

Starbucks introduced the Pumpkin Spice Latte in the fall of 2003. Since then, the company has sold more than 200 million of these lattes! Last August, Starbucks announced via the company blog that after over a decade of artificial flavoring, the Pumpkin Spice Latte would be made this year with real pumpkin.

But what’s inside a Pumpkin Spice Latte? In the same blog, Starbucks gives the ingredient list of the drink:
– Espresso
– Milk
– Pumpkin-spice flavored sauce (sugar, condensed skim milk, pumpkin puree, 2% or less of fruit and vegetable juice for color, natural flavors, annatto (color), potassium sorbate (preservative), salt)
– Whipped cream
– Starbucks vanilla sauce
– Pumpkin spice topping (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove)

I’m not a coffee drinker, so I’ve never tried the Starbucks Pumpkin Latte. But I know a lot of people who love it! However, sometimes, it seems better not to know what is inside your favorite food or beverage…

Is Pumpkin Spice just Spices without Pumpkin?

A few days ago, Washington Post Editor Karen Attiah wrote that “Pumpkins are mediocre, at best . . . It’s why we need to dump cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, vanilla, sugar and caffeine on them to make them interesting.” Considering how I cook pumpkin, she may be right. However, very few foods naturally taste good enough that they don’t need salt, spices, or cream to enhance their flavor.

In a video by the Institute of Food Technologies, food scientist Kantha Shelke explains the challenge of replicating the taste of a Pumpkin Spice Latte with ingredients at home. Often, at-home attempts taste more like Indian Massala Tea, commonly known as Chai. To get the kind of flavor that really resembles pumpkin pie, we would have to use flavoring. According to Shelke, the pumpkin-spice mix contains about 340 different chemical compounds that gives it the signature flavor.

Wait—340 flavors? No wonder the sales of real pumpkins dropped since 2011!

What would America be like without Pumpkin Spice?

Honestly, the average American would probably be thinner. In a live chat on her Facebook page a few days ago, Hillary Clinton stated that she used to drink Pumpkin Spice Lattes until she realized the high calorie content. Pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving is full of added sugar, fat, and cinnamon. It’s probably not too healthy either.

But can we imagine France without baguettes, camembert, and wine? The traditional baguette is a long, thin loaf of French bread made from wheat flour, water, yeast, and salt. Although it doesn’t contain fat or sugar, it’s also missing whole grains and fiber. What about camembert (pronounced cam-em-behr)? Camembert is a soft, creamy cheese from the town of Camembert in Normandy. In France, it is made from raw milk. In the U.S., however, food-safety officials require cheese to be pasteurized to reduce the presence of microorganisms. I love raw-milk cheese, but I stopped eating it during my pregnancies. Too dangerous!

America wouldn’t be the same without Pumpkin Spice

I doubt I’ll ever become a fan of pumpkin-spice flavoring. I tried the yoghurt, treats, and pies. Honestly, I didn’t like any of them. Each was too sweet for my taste and felt more like straight cinnamon and vanilla. That being said, Halloween would not be Halloween without pumpkin-spiced foods and drinks! The spices signal that fall is coming and that winter is not far away. Soon, the world will feel cooler and darker. In chilly seasons, even the smell of pumpkin spice makes you feel warm and cozy—and it works for me too.