Mad about Science: Pumpkin spice

By Brenden Bobby
Reader Staff

Though Reader Editor Zach Hagadone has expressed an aversion to the phraseit’s that time of the year again, that’s what it is — including wood fires, cozy sweaters and a paper cup of pumpkin spice latte.

The taste is immediately recognizable: homey, like pumpkin pie in liquid form. Interestingly, there isn’t any pumpkin in it whatsoever. In fact, most of the ingredients don’t even originate from the same continent as pumpkins.

Pumpkin spice is usually composed of three main ingredients: cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Ginger and allspice also make a frequent appearance in pumpkin spice blends.

It’d be pretty easy to wrap the article there and call it good for a week, but it’s a topic worth digging into a little deeper.

Pumpkin spice as we know it is not a modern invention, but it is a modern evolution. Pumpkin spice evolved from spices used as early as the 14th century called poudre-douce, or “sweet powder.” One of the biggest evolutions of this sweet powder was the inclusion of global spices like allspice and ginger that were unavailable to Europeans during the medieval period, but it may surprise you to know that cinnamon was. 

Cinnamon spice is derived from bark of the Cinnamomum genus of trees, native to much of East Asia. Cinnamon was exported from China to Egypt as long ago as 2,000 B.C.E., and was considered to be a magnificent gift worthy of the monarchy. It was even used during the embalming process of royal mummies, which brings a whole new macabre vibe to pumpkin spice lattes during October.

Cinnamon was available to Europeans, but it certainly wasn’t cheap. European nobility who could flaunt cinnamon and other spices at their tables were telling the world they had the resources to drag an ounce of dried bark halfway across the world, eat it and poop it out. They were just that rich.

Cloves grew only on the Maluku Islands in Indonesia during the medieval period. Despite having been traded throughout prehistoric times and into antiquity, they never made it as far as Europe. It wasn’t until the period of European exploration and colonization that cloves entered the European diet, and even still it was likely that only the elite had the privilege to taste them.

Ginger is a unique spice for myriad reasons. It has a sharp and distinct flavor profile and has often been touted as having medicinal properties, including the means to reduce inflammation.

Frequently referenced in holistic medicine and naturopathy, ginger as we know it is the definition of a genetically modified organism. Cultivated ginger has been bred to be palatable, unlike many of its natural counterparts. The ginger we consume today does not exist in the wild, and is strictly an organism that exists as a cultivar. This is not some atrocity of the 21st century; it’s thoughtful and intentioned human design that stretches back before antiquity.

Nutmeg has a number of unique qualities seen beyond its taste. Produced by grinding the seeds of Myristica trees of Indonesia, it has a distinct and identifiable flavor that is curiously reminiscent of the Christmas holiday. Eggnog, pumpkin spice and Christmas pudding in the U.K. are all flavored predominantly with nutmeg — which is distinctly British, but does not grow in the British Isles or even the same hemisphere. 

Nutmeg in shockingly small quantities can act as a psychoactive stimulant triggering dizziness, slurring, hallucinations and seizures.

Allspice originates from the island of Jamaica, though it has since been successfully grown and naturalized in the Hawaiian Islands, as well as many Central American countries. Its distinct flavor was highly appealing to Europeans in the 1600s, utilizing it to enhance the flavor of spice mixes and create the basis for pumpkin spice centuries later. Despite its name, it’s not actually a collection of multiple spices, but instead sourced from a single plant.

Finally, there is the humble pumpkin. Associated with Halloween and harvest in Anglo-European celebrations, the pumpkin didn’t arrive in Europe until European explorers came to the Americas in the 1500s. Alas, the pumpkin has nothing to do with pumpkin spice, aside from being an excellent sugary vehicle in which to deliver the spice in the form of pumpkin pie. 

There is currently a red-hot debate about the role of colonialism in our history and the impact that it has had on modern society and the innumerable lives that it touched. Empires, despite being often violent hotbeds of corruption and political abuses in the name of power, prestige and profit, played a vital role in securing internal trade networks to bring goods from far and wide to the very edges of their borders. 

The manner in which these goods were procured are likely to leave some of high moral standing disgusted, but the truth remains that they effectively brought resources that didn’t exist in one area to another, thus making them easier for everyone to access.

In a way, the tragedy of colonial abuses are the reason you can enjoy a cheap pumpkin spice latte today.

Stay curious, 7B.