Pumpkin has been crowned queen of the gourds.
Over the course of the last several years pumpkin spice has exploded in popularity and even contributed to the "basic white girl" jokes and memes that are a phenomenon all on their own.
How did this happen?
I think the popularity of the pumpkin spice latte (and pumpkin spice in general) can be laid squarely at the feet of Starbucks. They first introduced the drink in fall of 2013 and did a nationwide roll-out in fall 2014. The how is pretty easy to understand, the real question is why.
Why did this happen?
It's clear there has been a pumpkin takeover of fall. I can't give you a scientific answer or one backed up by news articles, but I have my own musings as to how pumpkin became a phenomenon.
I think it's safe to say that the beginning of the takeover was the popularity of Halloween pumpkin carving. This helped cement pumpkin imagery as being synonymous with fall. An argument can be made that pumpkin flavoring is nothing new. Which, at a basic level, is true, pumpkin pie may have originated as early as the 17th century. So, no, it is not a new flavor by any means. But the obsession is at an all time high.
If you refer back to my original "musings" post (It's F[ALL] in the Details) I talk about how in the south we have created an artificial fall in spite of the hot temperatures we endure, well into what most people would consider "winter." This absolutely extends into the food (and beverages) we serve. The nationwide roll-out and subsequent popularity (and eventual obsession) of the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte began to make people wonder what other foods and beverages they could add pumpkin to. The pumpkin spice latte signifies the start of fall, and to those of us who don't get to welcome fall with cooler temperatures, we can turn our A/C down, grab a pumpkin spice latte to "warm" our hands, wrap up in a blanket and pretend we are living in New England. As more and more people experience a hot fall season we reach for things like pumpkin and plaid to enhance our enjoyment of fall. But we didn't stop at pumpkin pie, or even pumpkin spice lattes now we have pumpkin macaroni & cheese and a plethora of pumpkin spice snack foods. And we didn't even stop at food, and I don't mean candles, we now have pumpkin spice dog shampoo among other even more bizarre things.
Trust me, I'm not immune from this phenomenon. While I don't enjoy the pumpkin spice latte I do love pumpkin breads and I will be trying out the pumpkin macaroni & cheese recipe later this month. I love the butternut squash ravioli from Panera, which I don't think has been released this year, so I'm hoping the pumpkin mac will be reminiscent of that (I'll probably try it with butternut squash as well). There's also at least three actual pumpkins in my house being used as decor.
What's the craziest pumpkin spice product you have seen?
P.S. For those of you who don't like the pumpkin spice latte (or coffee in general) try the caramel apple spice!
