Pumpkin pie spice facts for kids
Pumpkin pie spice, often just called pumpkin spice, is a special mix of spices. It's very popular in America, especially for making pumpkin pie. This spice mix is a lot like the "mixed spice" used in places like Britain.
Pumpkin pie spice is usually a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and sometimes allspice. People also use it to add flavor to many other foods and drinks.
What's in the Mix?
A common recipe for pumpkin pie spice includes:
- 18 parts ground cinnamon
- 4 parts ground nutmeg
- 4 parts ground ginger
- 3 parts ground cloves
- 3 parts ground allspice
This means you would use more cinnamon than the other spices.
A Bit of History
The idea of using a mix of spices like this for pumpkin dishes is quite old. As far back as 1796, a cookbook called American Cookery by Amelia Simmons included a recipe for "Pompkin." This recipe used spices like mace, nutmeg, and ginger, which are similar to today's pumpkin pie spice.
Here's what the old recipe said:
Pompkin
No. 1. One quart stewed and strained, 3 pints cream, 9 beaten eggs, sugar, mace, nutmeg and ginger, laid into paste No. 7 or 3, and with a dough spur, cross and chequer it, and baked in dishes three quarters of an hour.
No. 2. One quart of milk, 1 pint pompkin, 4 eggs, molasses, allspice and ginger in a crust, bake 1 hour.
Cookbooks from the 1890s also mention pumpkin pie spice.
Why is it So Popular?
Today, pumpkin pie spice is so popular that many companies sell it already mixed. You can find it from brands like McCormick & Company, Trader Joe's, and Frontier Natural Products Co-op.
By 2016, products that use pumpkin spice were making about $500 million in sales each year. A very famous example is the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. Starbucks sold over 200 million of these lattes between their launch and 2013. This drink alone brought in at least $80 million a year during some seasons.
