Pumpkin spice
PUMP-kin spys
Also called pumpkin pie spice.
Warm, sweet, cozy, baking-spiced.
Pumpkin spice, or pumpkin pie spice, is an American blend of warm baking spices built on cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Those three are the constant. After that the blends part company: line up four from established merchants and clove is missing from one of them, allspice from another, and mace turns up only in the two longest mixes. 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.
Similar but different
Easy to mix up, different enough that swapping changes the dish.
- Mulling spicewarm, sweet, citrusy, gently pungent.
In the journal
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, ginger, and nutmeg, adding clove or allspice to taste. Read the ingredient statement rather than the front label, because the jars differ more than the shared name suggests.
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, ginger, and nutmeg, with clove or allspice to taste | to taste | covers the three spices every blend agrees on; the rest is house choice anyway |
Pumpkin spice contains no pumpkin; it is named for the pie it seasons, not for any ingredient in it.
Common questions
- What does pumpkin spice taste like?
- Pumpkin spice is warm, sweet, cozy, baking-spiced. Its overall intensity is medium.
- What can I use instead of pumpkin spice?
- The closest swaps are Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, with clove or allspice to taste (to taste, covers the three spices every blend agrees on; the rest is house choice anyway). No substitute is exact, so taste and adjust.
- Should I buy pumpkin spice whole or 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 do you store pumpkin spice?
- Airtight and dark. Best within a few months, after which the ground spices fade.
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From the Almanac
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