The Disturbing Colonial History of Pumpkin Spice

Pumpkin spice is typically a blend of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. The first known mention of the blend dates to <a href="https://grubamericana.com/2022/12/20/pumpkin-pie-americas-favorite-holiday-pie/#:~:text=Then%20in%201655%20a%20popular,his%20recipe%20for%20pumpkin%20pie." rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">The Compleat Cook</a>, a 1671 English cookbook that likely inspired America’s early pumpkin recipes. In its recipes for “Pompkin pie,” the book calls for “Cinamon Nutmeg, Pepper, and six Cloves” to season the pie. Where did the book’s English author get the idea for that warm, autumnal blend? The idea probably comes from <a href="https://delistories.puratos.com/speculoos/#:~:text=The%20Dutch%20hold%20that%20speculaas,were%20becoming%20more%20widely%20available." rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">speculaas</a>, a Dutch spice blend that dates to even earlier in the 17th century. But even that isn’t the true origin of the blend. The idea of combining piquant spices into a warming blend isn’t American, English, or Dutch–it’s Southeast Asian. <a href="https://tomsmith585.medium.com/the-disturbing-colonial-history-of-pumpkin-spice-fbe62b7e213a">Click Here</a>