Just curious, as we approach Autumn, and the number of Autumnal products begin to be thrust at us all again…
Are there REALLY that many people who want EVERYTHING t taste and smell like Pumpkins?
No really, this isn’t a rant, I’m genuinely asking. I’m surrounded by pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin coffee creamer, and on and on. I personally do like ONE kind of pumpkin pie, but that’s about it.
Does anyone else here look forward to this time of year so that they can have all those other pumpkin flavored things, or is this a sort of attempt to drive a made-up fad?
I love pumpkin spice everything. I am trying to lose weight so I don’t eat much of it ( aside from pumpkin spice flavored coffee), but I would if I could. I don’t care for most flavored coffee, but I do like pumpkin spice. Not the commercially prepared lattes, they are too sweet and light for my taste. But the flavored coffee with a little creamer is great.
I’m not keen on the flavor or texture of pumpkin. Most things you see around this time of year are pumpkin SPICE flavored, not pumpkin flavored. Pumpkin spice being a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Same as apple pie spice. I LIKE those spices so I’d probably like a pumpkin or apple spice latte. If I liked lattes. But keep them away from my beer, my air freshener, my dryer sheets, my shampoo, lotions, and deodorant. I make oatmeal with baked apples and all those flavors and it’s quite good. But I only want to smell it when it’s actually cooking or being served. It’s still pretty warm around here and I can’t imagine standing next to someone at the next 90 degree football game who’s daintied out in pumpkin spice latte deodorant. Seriously.
I once burst into spontaneous applause in the bagel store when I saw that pumpkin bagels had returned, to the surprise of the other customers. This year they have pumpkin walnut crunch bagels. In the past week I have had them for lunch four times (with pumpkin cream cheese), and purchased an additional two for freezing, as well as two tubs of pumpkin cream cheese.
I have also been enjoying Pumpkin Spice Mini Wheats for breakfast.
I don’t eat every pumpkin-flavored item – Pumpkin Cheerios and pumpkin ice cream do nothing for me.
But I’m sure that the marketing gurus aren’t just producing all of the pumpkin products for fun. If there were no market, they would all disappear.
I need to remember to pull out my collection of pumpkin-scented shower gels.
As BeeGee noted, this really has nothing to do with the taste or smell of pumpkins. Pumpkins are a mild-flavored squash. When people talk about “pumpkin flavor” they’re actually talking about the various spices that go into a pumpkin pie.
I had a pumpkin spice beer and the bottle said it contained real pumpkin. Didn’t improve it, nor did the pumpkin SPICE. It tasted like some pie spices fell into a glass of beer by accident. Maybe another kind of pumpkin beer would be better, but I can’t remember which one it is.
Evidently pumpkin spice is Starbucks’ best selling seasonal latte flavor, which means it’s made roughly a jillion dollars. I guess it’s not too surprising that everyone wants to get in on the action.
I am more amused by it than anything else, but there are definitely a few pumpkin- or pumpkin spice-laden things that I look forward to every year. The Original Pancake House makes amazing pumpkin pancakes and I allow myself to order them exactly once per season. I’m totally ambivalent towards the Starbucks PSL but 7-11 of all places has a pretty tasty pumpkin “cappuccino.”
The range of wacky kit kat flavors in Japan is pretty well known by now but a few years back they had a pumpkin flavored variety around this time of year. I assumed it would be pumpkin pie, but nope, it was actual pumpkin flavor, as in, no spices, just a mild earthy squash-flavored filling.
This is my husband. He will want a pumpkin (or sweet potato) pie. Just one! I will also make one 6" pumpkin cheesecake and one batch of pumpkin pancakes. And then we’ll wave goodbye to pumpkin for another year.
I admit it. This time of year I go bananas for pumpkins. Coffee, oatmeal, cookies, gelato, cheesecake and whatever. I make vanilla ice cream flavored with sweet white pumpkin and serve it in the leftover shells. People love it.
All you pumpkin spice bookhooers can go suck an egg.
