# Pumpkin pie and spices **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 19, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872 "2015-12-19T20:58:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/1 "2015-12-19T20:58:13Z")
What’s the best spice to put in pumpkin pie? Nutmeg? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/2 "2015-12-19T21:05:10Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > What’s the best spice to put in pumpkin pie? Nutmeg? It’s usually a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg/mace, cloves, allspice. Not necessarily all of them, but I find the first three essential. I personally also like to add a little bit of black pepper. Sometimes cardamom if I’m feeling a bit exotic, but be careful not to use too much of either. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/3 "2015-12-19T21:06:59Z")
The 4 spices we use for pumpkin pie are cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Mix 1 and a half teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg for the proper ratio. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/4 "2015-12-19T21:10:10Z")
You make it sound like you’d only put one spice in. Yeah, nutmeg is a good presence there. I’d include allspice though, and cinnamon, and ginger, and cloves. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/5 "2015-12-19T21:16:16Z")
On the other hand, my grandma’s recipe uses no spice other than cinnamon. It’s still quite tasty, though not the same thing as with all those other spices. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/6 "2015-12-19T22:45:45Z")
Cinnamon? I usually save cinnamon for apple cider and oatmeal. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/7 "2015-12-19T22:52:48Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Cinnamon? I usually save cinnamon for apple cider and oatmeal. 🙂 Yeah, cinnamon is usually the main spice proportionally in pumpkin pie. ETA: **Cyros** ’s proportions are pretty typical. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/8 "2015-12-19T22:55:45Z")
It is not the seventeenth century and we are not Dutch spice merchants. We do not put anything but cinnamon in our pumpkin pie, and we like it best that way. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/9 "2015-12-19T23:12:49Z")
My MIL’s recipe, which is really good, uses cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![tadtooornamental](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@tadtooornamental](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tadtooornamental)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/10 "2015-12-19T23:43:51Z")
I like a spicy pie, so I use a bit more than what Cyros recommended, but I don’t really measure either, so . . . not helpful, really. I use the same spices though! I mainly came in to say that some off hand relative (my aunt’s husband’s sister’s daughter or something like that) made the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving this year, and I swear she ust have put turmeric in it. It wasn’t really bad, but it definitely wasn’t the taste I was expecting. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/11 "2015-12-20T00:19:49Z")
Don’t forget the bourbon. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/12 "2015-12-20T00:44:02Z")
I have bourbon–a 23-year-old half-full bottle of Jack Daniels–but I don’t cook and I wouldn’t dream of putting it on pumpkin pie. And I am a teetotaler. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/13 "2015-12-20T00:47:42Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I have bourbon–a 23-year-old half-full bottle of Jack Daniels–but I don’t cook and I wouldn’t dream of putting it on pumpkin pie. And I am a teetotaler. It’s pretty tasty. You don’t need a lot of it, either. 1-3 tablespoons is enough. Gives it a vanilla-y, bourbon-y kick without it being overpowering. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/14 "2015-12-20T00:59:00Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I have bourbon–a 23-year-old half-full bottle of Jack Daniels–but I don’t cook and I wouldn’t dream of putting it on pumpkin pie. And I am a teetotaler. Not on - IN. Also good mixed in with the whipped cream. But I’m not sure why you bothered to respond, given your stated trifecta. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/15 "2015-12-20T05:11:40Z")
Hmmm… vanilla taste? I never knew about that. The hot toddies I had with the Jack Daniels and Bigelow orange herbal tea gave no hint of vanilla. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/16 "2015-12-20T05:35:35Z")
I’ve heard of chili powder in chocolate chip cookies, or cocoa in chili, but black pepper in pumpkin pie? I’m assuming it’s basically a homeopathic amount. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/17 "2015-12-20T05:56:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **pulykamell** : > > Cinnamon? I usually save cinnamon for apple cider and oatmeal. > Yeah, cinnamon is usually the main spice proportionally in pumpkin pie. ETA: Cyros’s proportions are pretty typical. On the other hand, a little nutmeg goes a long way. Three times as much cinnamon as nutmeg just might still leave the nutmeg as the “main spice”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/18 "2015-12-20T06:09:31Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Hmmm… vanilla taste? I never knew about that. The hot toddies I had with the Jack Daniels and Bigelow orange herbal tea gave no hint of vanilla. Well, it’s not super vanilla-y, but one of the usual flavor notes of bourbon is vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, especially the sweeter wheated bourbons like Maker’s Mark. Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey is often described as having vanilla, oak, caramel, and licorice flavors. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve heard of chili powder in chocolate chip cookies, or cocoa in chili, but black pepper in pumpkin pie? I’m assuming it’s basically a homeopathic amount. It’s not a lot. About 1/4 teaspoon or so for a 9-inch pie. Google “black pepper pumpkin pie” and you’ll find plenty of hits. The King Arthur recipe is particularly good. > [@Chronos](#): > > On the other hand, a little nutmeg goes a long way. Three times as much cinnamon as nutmeg just might still leave the nutmeg as the “main spice”. Yes, absolutely. That’s why I was careful to say “proportionally.” Nutmeg, mace, and cloves are all pretty strong spices, and a little goes a long way. I still think of cinnamon and ginger as the main flavorings. Personally, I usually only go 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1/4 tsp clove (maybe even less on the clove), but about 1 1/2 - 2 on the cinnamon, and a hair less on the ginger. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/19 "2015-12-20T08:29:24Z")
For a change of pace - Chinese five spice ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872/20 "2015-12-20T10:38:43Z")
Cinnamon is definitely the most important spice, and I’ve definitely been known to make it without any of the others. It just makes for a lighter taste than usual. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumpkin-pie-and-spices/740872.md?page=2)