Pumpkin spice
PUMP-kin spys
Warm, sweet, cozy, baking-spiced.
What it is
Pumpkin spice, or pumpkin pie spice, is an American blend of warm baking spices, typically cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, and often allspice. Despite the name it contains no pumpkin at all; it is the spice mix that seasons pumpkin pie, which is how it got the name. The blend is sweet, warm, and cozy, and beyond pie it flavors lattes, oatmeal, baked goods, and roasted squash. It became a cultural shorthand for autumn in North America. Making it at home is simply a matter of combining the warm spices to taste.
What it pairs with
Goes wrong with: savory dishes outside autumn baking.
Common in American cooking.
Whole vs ground
Pumpkin spice is a finished ground blend of warm baking spices. It contains no pumpkin; the name refers to the pie it seasons.
How to handle it
Stir into batters, custards, oatmeal, and hot drinks. It is sweet-leaning, so it suits baking and coffee more than savory cooking.
Storage
Airtight and dark. Best within a few months, after which the ground spices fade.
Buying note
Easy and cheaper to mix at home from cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove. Check that a jar is not mostly cinnamon.
What's in it
Classic dishes
pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice latte, spiced oatmeal, spice cake.
Out of pumpkin spice? Substitutes
No substitute is exact. These are the closest by flavor behavior, with the ratio to start from and how the result will differ.
| Use instead | Ratio | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Cinnamon with a little nutmeg, ginger, and clove | to taste | build it from the warm spices you already have |
One odd thing
Pumpkin spice contains no pumpkin; it is named for the pie it seasons, not for any ingredient in it.