Make some yourself and see if pumpkin spice popcorn is really a good thing or an abomination.
Mix together 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg, 1½ teaspoons ground allspice and 1½ teaspoons ground cloves. Add to anything, apparently.
Tis the season for the scourge of seasonings. Of course, it’s all Starbucks’ fault. The wild popularity of their ridiculous Pumpkin Spice Latte inspired everyone else to go all pumpkin spice. Cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg and ginger are the spices commonly used in pumpkin pie. Why? Pumpkin requires lots of spices because by itself, it has very little flavor. By itself, it couldn’t be used to flavor anything at all. But cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg and ginger are also essential to speculaas (spice cookies), gingerbread, chai, apple pie and, if you add a generous amount of black pepper, Lebanese spice mix.
So why “pumpkin” spice latte caught on, I don’t know. I do know that the number of pumpkin spice flavored products is absurd. Kale chips. Potato chips. Biscotti. Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies. Yogurt. Chocolate truffles. Matcha. Granola. Popcorn. Lip balm. Liqueur.
See more inside our 2017 September/October Issue.
