Episode #4 – Pumpkin Pie Spice

Pumpkin pie, spice. We all grew up with it. We all love it, and one company made over 100 million in just one fall season because they use it in a latte. We'll talk about the magical Pumpkin Pie Spice, and much, much more today on Bending The Spoon. But before we get to that, I'd like to remind you that if you like recipes, go to bonicellicookingclub.com and sign up for my email list and check out all of the options for participating in the club. And if you like what you hear today, hop over to podchaser.com and leave Bending The Spoon. A positive review. Also for the video version of the podcast, subscribe to Bonicelli Cooking Club on. Now let's talk about Pumpkin Pie Spice. Before we get into this, I should mention that I switched topics for this podcast. I just had to get Pumpkin Pie Spice in before Thanksgiving, so I moved all about fat into January. Now, Pumpkin Pie Spice or Pumpkin Spice. Same thing When I was growing up in

She's in Minnesota. My mother always had a small can of pumpkin pie spice in the cabinet.

Although I suspect it was the same can the entire time I was growing up because she just didn't use it. Not even in her absolutely perfect pumpkin pies and I can't think of any other recipes she made with Pumpkin Pie Spice. However, her pie recipe has the same spices as pumpkin pie, spice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, all spice and cloves. And I think she liked controlling the amounts of the spices and her pies were her thing. I still use her recipe. It tastes great, but I'll never master a picture perfect crust like hers. They were so perfect, they look machine made. There are a few things that I find remarkable about pumpkin pie spice. It definitely is a cold weather combination. It's made of warming spices. Spices that make you feel warm. And also I'm sure, because even without the rest of the pie ingredients, it smells like pumpkin pie and pumpkins are a fall vegetable. So even though you can buy pumpkin puree year round, I'm willing to bet that most pumpkin in puree sales happen around the. When we're all making pumpkin bars and pumpkin pie and it's cold outside, people associate its aroma and flavor with comfort, which is why Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is so popular, so popular. It has its own Instagram account. Before Starbucks introduced their famous fall concoction, the seasonal pumpkin spice scent was primarily used for candles in home fragrances. That's something I never bought into. I like my home to smell like a baked pie when I'm baking. Only when I'm baking one. Now you can find pumpkin spice flavors in almost every type of food you can imagine. From Cheerios to Oreos, pancake mixes to protein shakes. I even saw some pumpkin spice. Jelly beans. Jelly beans at Christmas time. Wrong holiday for jelly beans, I think. Now here's the interesting thing. When you smell the pumpkin pie spice combination, you smell sweet. That's partly because the cinnamon and nutmeg trick your brain into thinking it is sweet, but if you taste it, it isn't sweet at all. There also may be some association. It smells like pumpkin pie, so you think sweet, but I think it's just a phenomenon with some spices that they smell sweet when they just aren't. That brings us to our featured ingredient. This week's featured ingredient is actually two ingredients, nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg is a key ingredient in pumpkin pie. Spice Mace is not. So why feature both nutmeg and mace come from the same seed? Nutmeg is the kernel inside of the seed, and mace is the aril or the blade that is wrapped around the seed shell while similar in flavor. Maces much more delicate and expensive than nutmeg. Nutmeg is typically used in baked goods and sweet and savory dishes worldwide. While mace is more often but not exclusively used in savory dishes, they're similar enough to use interchangeably. Nutmeg and mace are native to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. They're cultivated in the Malukas, the West Indies, Africa, Grenada, and Sri Lanka. Although many stores carry both spices ground, it's best to buy the nutmeg kernels and mace arils hole and grind them in your spice grinder, or use a microplane to great them as you need them, store them in a cool, dry place in an airtight container away from heat. And if you can buy them in small quantities buy what you need for a few months at a time. I assumed pumpkin pie spice had been around since the 1950s because that's when food started being packaged for convenience. After all. What could be more convenient than using one spice in a pie instead of five? But the earliest versions of the Premix combo were actually introduced by Thompson and Taylor's Spice Company and McCormick and Company in the early 1930s. Now, that's for a premade blend that was named Pumpkin Pie Spice, but pies and other recipes using that combination of spices date back to the 17 hundreds. Now that's in America, but around the world, it goes back way further, and it's not just used for pumpkin. Mid Eastern cultures used a similar spice combination in spiced meats, rice dishes, and tagines. In England, mince meat pie, which usually contain mutton and dried fruit. Also plump pudding. And think of meads and spiced wine. Because our American palettes associate the spice combination with sweet treats, some of the savory dishes may not be well received. Remember that even if there is no sugar in a dish, say a pork dish with cinnamon, we still perceive sweetness. Which isn't something that everyone cares for, but there is one thing that everyone does like, and now it's time for our tip of the week. The tip of the week is how to make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice Latte. Usually I'm not a sweet coffee drink person, but this time of year I will occasionally have a mocha with a smidge of Mintz syrup. And around Thanksgiving, I'll make pumpkin pie spice lattes on a cold Sunday afternoon. A couple of episodes ago, I gave you my pumpkin pie spice recipe, and I believe that was episode one. It's a delicious combination of spices, so, so go and grab that. If you don't have Pumpkin Pie Spice on hand. Now let me walk you through my recipe. You need two coffee cups or mugs. Now in a small sauce pan mix three tablespoons of pumpkin puree and two tablespoons of water, and a half a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. That's a boiling, stirring for two minutes to bring out the flavor of the spices. Mix in two tablespoons of granulated sugar and keep stirring until it looks like a thick syrup. Put a shot of espresso in each mug. Divide the pumpkin mixture between the cups and stir into the espresso broth. One cup of milk and one tablespoon of vanilla extract and divide the froth milk between the cups. Top that with slightly sweetened whipped cream and sprinkle with more spice for a garnish. I usually skip the whipped cream, but it is delicious. And I should mention this probably seems like a lot of vanilla, but I promise it's not. The vanilla is what makes it taste like pie. I use my Breville Milk Cafe to froth my milk, which, which I absolutely love. But if you don't have a frother, try using your immersion blender. Make your own homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Latte, and that is your tip of the week.. You are listening to Bending the Spoon, the podcast dedicated to making you a better cook. I'm Chef Laura Bonicelli and I want to remind you that if you like recipes, go to bonicellicookingclub.com and sign up for my email list and check out all of the options of participating in the club. And if you like what you hear today, hop over to podchaser.com and leave bending the spoon of positive review. Also for the video version of this podcast, subscribe to Bonelli Cooking Club on YouTube. Now, back to our episode. We can't deny the positive impact and nostalgic feelings that Pumpkin Pie Spice evokes. It makes us feel warm and fuzzy and safe, even loved. But let's remember that with the spices usually comes sugar, fat, and often white flour. So is it good for us? As you all know, I'm in the once in a while camp when it comes to sweet treats. I have had them in a more featured place in my daily diet and it didn't go well. So I do limit them, but I don't wanna end up like the mayor in Chocolat, so much deprivation, one day I just crack up and go on a crazy binge. Here is the good news. The spices themselves are good for you. They lighten your spirits because they make you feel happy. They all have warming properties and increased circulation, perfect for fall and winter weather When our circulation goes down and the days get shorter and shorter. A reduced flow of oxygen can make you feel tired and lethargic. But after having a Pumpkin Spice Latte or another pumpkin spice flavored food or beverage, our blood vessels expand and we feel warmer and more energized. If you look at any of the ingredients in Pumpkin Pie Spice individually, they all have a long list of benefits. Take our featured ingredient, for example. This is a culmination of things I found from a number of sources, including Healthline and WebMD. Nutmeg is rich in antioxidants, and because of that, it is believed to have the ability to relieve pain, sooth and digestion, strengthen cognitive function, detoxify the body, boost skin health, alleviate oral conditions, reduced insomnia, increase immune system function, and improve blood circulation. I don't know about all of that or how much nutmeg you need to actually get those benefits, but let's sum it up with saying spices are good for you. It's time for our top tool. I love cappuccino and lattes, so frothing milk at home is very important to me, and the quality of the frothed milk, the texture, the foam, it being really hot are things I'm really concerned about. Now over the years I've had a number of espresso machines with frothers and also quite a few separate home frothing devices. Two of them quit working after about a year, and parts were almost expensive as buying a new one. But, I'm on my third year with this one, the Breville Milk Cafe, and I absolutely love it. It does take longer than any of the other frothers, you know, maybe three to four minutes. But it's worth the wait. It also has a larger capacity than the other frothers, and it has separate frothing devices for cappuccino and latte because they're not the same, and it's dishwasher safe. Not that I ever put it in the dishwasher, but apparently I could. So here's another perk, you can control the temperature of the milk from warm at under 120 degrees Fahrenheit, all the way up to over 160 degrees Farenheit. And you have the option to cold stir as well. This is my top tool, the Breville Milk Cafe, and you can find out more on my bendable site. There is a link in the show notes. Pumpkin Pie spice has definitely found a permanent place in our culture. As I close this episode, sipping my Pumpkin Pie Spice Latte. I'm feeling a little bit sorry for the other spices in the mix. I really did give nutmeg all of the attention making it featured ingredient and all. So here is a little respect for the others. Cinnamon, you are literally bark. You and nutmeg are in equal standing as comfort spices. And again, you make the world sweeter with no actual sweetness of your own. Ginger. You are spicy with heat, so we have to be a bit careful with you, but we miss you if you were gone. Same with you. cloves, you aren't hot and we have to remember a little of you goes a very long. And finally allspice. You really do have it all with notes of cloves and nutmegs star anus, fennel, black pepper, and cinnamon. You really belong in this mix. Next week's episode is called Leftover Love. Look for it. I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season. Thank you so very much for listening to this episode of Bending the Spoon. If you like this episode or if you think someone else would find it, Please leave a review on pod chaser.com and if you have any questions for me, find me on Instagram or YouTube or go to bonicellicookingclub.com and leave me a message. Thank you, and go and make some magic in your kitchen.