National Pumpkin Spice Day

Associated with the fall season, pumpkin pie spice, usually simply called pumpkin spice, is celebrated today on National Pumpkin Spice Day with pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pies, pumpkin spice candles, and everything else that has the aroma or flavor of the spice. Pumpkin spice was developed for making pumpkin pie. Recipes vary but tend to be a blend of ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and sometimes allspice.

A spice blend similar to pumpkin spice dates to 1796, appearing with a recipe for pumpkin pie in the first known American cookbook, American Cookery. A pumpkin spice blend is mentioned in a number of cookbooks from the 1890s. One recipe calls for ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, allspice, and cloves to be mixed together when making pumpkin pies. In the 1930s, Thomson & Taylor Spice Co. and McCormick & Company were the first to make a premixed spice with the name Pumpkin Pie Spice. Thomson & Taylor's Pumpkin Pie Spice debuted in 1933 and McCormick's Pumpkin Pie Spice hit shelves in 1934.

The modern-day boom of pumpkin spice dates back to 2003, when Starbucks debuted its Pumpkin Spice Latte. The director of espresso at the time, Peter Dukes, brought the recipe to the company after his team had been entrusted with coming up with a seasonal drink similar to their Peppermint Mocha and Eggnog Latte. The Pumpkin Spice Latte started off at 100 Starbucks locations around Vancouver, B.C., and Washington, D.C., but is now on Starbucks' seasonal menu around the world and their most popular seasonal drink. Although most pumpkin spice doesn't contain pumpkin, as of 2015, the pumpkin spice in the Starbucks latte recipe does have it. While pumpkin spice latte drinks predate the Starbucks creation, likely being enjoyed at least since the early 1990s, it was because of the Starbucks drink that pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin spice, in general, became a household name.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes return in the fall, and for many, having them is an important part of the return to the season. Just like the first day of school or the leaves changing colors, pumpkin spice evokes fall. Or like lemonade is for summer or hot chocolate is for winter, the pumpkin spice latte is the season's signature drink. Pumpkin spice is a twenty-first-century cultural icon. It brings nostalgia, conjuring memories of family, holiday get-togethers, and falling leaves, and its aroma plays an integral role in triggering the memories. Pumpkin spice is used not only in lattes and pumpkin pies, but in other foods and home products, like cookies, breads, candles, and cosmetics. But it was the Pumpkin Spice Latte that ignited the pumpkin spice craze, and it most assuredly is why there is a National Pumpkin Spice Day that we celebrate today!

How to Observe National Pumpkin Spice Day

• Have a pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks or another coffee shop.
• Make your own pumpkin spice latte.
• Enjoy a pumpkin pie.
• Bake a pumpkin pie or something else with pumpkin spice.
• Make your own pumpkin spice.
• Use some other pumpkin spice products.

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