Spice - Pumpkin Pie Spice substitute #cooking

Convenience seems to be the keyword of our time. Convenience is great it saves time and effort. But in some cases it comes with an unrealized downside, the loss of knowledge, with that the loss of innovation and creativity. For instance, what is the blend of  ‘real’ spices in Pumpkin Pie Spice? What if you want to tweak the blend to your palate?

The Modern-Day Pumpkin Spice has a long and somewhat debated history. The web site
irariklis HISTORY seems to have traced it back several  centuries to “The Great Pumpkin Route” in the Balkans. Other sites like  Cake Spy and the Chicagoist claim a more recent American origin. Regardless almost universally it is agreed that the blend as we know it came into its own in the 1950’s when companies like McCormick began mass marketing various spice blends to home cooks.

So what really is in Pumpkin Pie Spice? What would you use if your out?

Amount: 1 teaspoon

Substitute: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon plus 1/4 ground teaspoon ginger plus 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg plus 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice (what if your out of allspice)

Like any other recipe once you have it you can tailor it to your personal preference. With that the options for creativity really open up. Not that there is anything wrong with prepackaged spice blends. I love them. Cooking, often, is easier using them. But with the knowledge of how particular spice can be combined to arrive at a particular flavor your imagination can run wild. That is when cooking is get fun.

Enjoy

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