If you love pumpkin spice, what could be better than organic pumpkin spice?
The popular taste of autumn is everywhere these days, from chicken wings to cottage cheese. And some people love it, at least in baked goods or lattes. Others loathe it. The environmentally conscious may wonder about the benefits of organic pumpkin spice. If you use it, or it's used in something you buy, is that something better for you and/or the environment? Is it more delicious?
In the U.S., something that's certified as organic bears a seal from the Department of Agriculture. That label means it contains 95% or more organic ingredients, and the product makers had to meet standards for soil quality, animal raising practices, and pest and weed control. They can't use synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation or genetic engineering.
But there are four categories of organics: from 100% to organic, made with organic and containing specific organic ingredients, so not all organics (and not all pumpkin spice products) are created equal. An Amazon search for "organic pumpkin spice" turns up more than 200 results. Pumpkin spice sales are up, as of the end of August by nearly 10% in dollar growth and more than 7% in unit volume from a year ago, according to Nielsen.
Sheril Kirshenbaum prefers her pumpkin spice from a homemade pumpkin pie, made with fresh, not canned, pumpkin.
"To be completely transparent, there's really not a distinguishable difference between organic and nonorganic when it comes to pumpkin spice," says Kirshenbaum, a food fellow at Michigan State University and host of Serving Up Science, a show on a National Public Radio affiliate.
As Laura Shumow, executive director of the American Spice Trade Association, explains, "Pumpkin spice is typically a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Some pumpkin spice will also contain allspice."
The association represents about 175 members including companies that grow, dehydrate and process spices, and focuses more on regulatory and technical issues rather than the culinary side of the spice industry. So Shumow doesn't have an opinion on the benefits or taste difference of organic versus conventional.
"There is an abundance of products on the market today using pumpkin spice," she notes, "everything from the latte that seemed to start the craze to cookies, coffee creamer, candles and hand lotion. It’s a flavor that has actually been around for many, many years—when our grandmothers and their grandmothers baked pumpkin pies. It’s only in recent years that we’ve seen it become a staple of fall in such a wide range of products."
Yet Kirshenbaum says organic doesn't necessarily mean a product used to spice up your fall dish was grown more sustainably. The farmer wasn't able to use certain pesticides, but may have used more water in the process, for instance. "There's no way the customer would even know" if something was made with organic versus conventional pumpkin spice. Although "it probably costs more money," she said.
But pumpkin spice in any form may be good for your health. It can make you feel better, because it evokes emotions.
"You're thinking of when you grew up, if you personally associate flavors with happy, warm memories," Kirshenbaum said.
So you can kick it up a notch with organic pumpkin spice. But don't forget: The rest of the recipe also should be organic, or the benefits are negligible.
Kirshenbaum recommends using fresh ingredients and watching your sugar intake when it comes to enjoying pumpkin spice. She likes to bake up a bunch of pumpkin pies, eat some and freeze the rest. "They wind up being breakfast for the next couple of weeks."
Shumow adds that when it comes to pumpkin spice, "Traditionalists probably just look for it in their actual pumpkin pie."
