PUMPKIN

 PUMPKIN

Pumpkin is a plump, nutritious orange vegetable, and a highly nutrient dense food. It is low in calories but rich in vitamins and minerals, all of which are also in its seeds, leaves, and juices.

Pumpkin is a variety of squash that people often think of as a traditional Halloween decoration or a Thanksgiving pie filling. However, the flesh of the pumpkin plant provides a range of health benefits outside of popular festivities.

There are many ways to incorporate pumpkin into desserts, soups, salads, preserves, and even as a substitute for butter.

PUMPKIN PATCH

What is a pumpkin patch? Initially, a pumpkin patch was a garden area where pumpkins were grown and nurtured.

Pumpkin patches can be as big as a tradesman wants them to be. Only some of the pumpkins are grown at the site itself.

Often, they are purchased in large quantities and marketed on-site. Visiting a pumpkin patch to select pumpkins later carved and used for ornamentation is a tradition in the United States.

PUMPKIN PIE

Pumpkin pie is a dessert pie with a spiced, pumpkin-based custard filling. The pumpkin and pumpkin pie are both a symbol of harvest time, and pumpkin pie is generally eaten during the fall and early winter.

The pie's filling ranges in color from orange to brown and is baked in a single pie shell, usually without a top crust. The pie is generally flavored with a spice mixture known as pumpkin pie spice, which is made using spices such as ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice. The pie is usually prepared with canned pumpkin, but fresh-cooked pumpkin can be used.

PUMPKIN SPICE

Pumpkin pie spice, also known as pumpkin spice, is an American spice mix commonly used as a flavoring for pumpkin pie, but does not include pumpkin as an ingredient.

Pumpkin pie spice is similar to the British and Commonwealth mixed spice. It is generally a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and sometimes allspice. It can also be used as a seasoning in general cooking.

As of 2016, pumpkin spice consumables produce $500 million in annual sales. The spice is often referred to in the context of a Pumpkin spice Latte from Starbucks, with the company selling more than 200 million lattes between its launch and 2013, generating revenue of at least $80 million a year.

Pumpkin spice latte was claimed in October 2003 to have been introduced around three years earlier by the J. L. Hufford Coffee and Tea Company of Lafayette, Indiana, according to a Lafayette newspaper article. According to the American coffee chain Starbucks developed a Pumpkin Spice Latte in January 2003, adding it to a range of seasonal winter drinks. Starbucks' director of espresso Americas, Peter Dukes, said that "developers realized there was something special around the pumpkin flavor, especially since there wasn't anything around pumpkin at the time." The company experimented with different combinations and ratios of pumpkin to spice, ultimately deciding on a recipe with no pumpkin in it. It became Starbucks' most popular seasonal beverage.