Pumpkin spice is all the rage

"Too much of a good thing is wonderful." So said American entertainer and sex symbol, the late Mae West. Were she around today as the annual pumpkin spice craze gets into full swing, she might reconsider.

Take, for example, the turns the craze, which started innocently enough as a flavored coffee drink, has taken. Now on the market are such delights as pumpkin spice bagels, pumpkin spice Oreos, pumpkin spice Twinkies, pumpkin spice yogurt, pumpkin spice ale, pumpkin spice Cheerios, pumpkin spice almonds, pumpkin spice M&Ms and pumpkin spice vodka.

As if these aren't enough, pumpkin spice has found its way into products where it has absolutely no business being, such as peanut butter and coconut milk and Kahlua and margarine and Kraft macaroni and cheese, and even, believe it or not, Spam.

What used to be an ingredient confined mostly to pumpkin pies has come a long way. Some would say it's actually gone too far. Indeed, pumpkin spice is, in the minds of many, a perfect example of "jumping the shark," i.e. something done purely for the sake of novelty.

Now as one who once tried to get in touch with Warren Buffet to complain that the local Dairy Queen was out of pumpkin spice Blizzards, I don't necessarily agree, but the proliferation of pumpkin spice does prompt me to wonder how we got to this point.

Pot de PSL is a dessert version of Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, the beverage which launched the pumpkin spice craze.Submitted by Tom Harte

It all started at Starbucks back in 2003, though, to be sure, a recipe combining spices compatible with pumpkin goes back at least as far as 1796 in what is regarded as the first American cookbook, authored by Amelia Simmons. In 1934 McCormick introduced a pumpkin pie spice, later abbreviated to just pumpkin spice, a convenient ready-made combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Others soon followed suit. (My favorite is Trader Joe's version because it contains cardamom.) These spice blends, however, were meant strictly for pumpkin pie. It would take Peter Dukes, an executive at Starbucks, to turn them into a fad.

Dukes was looking for something to match the sales of Starbucks' peppermint mocha drink which had been a hit at the holidays. He suggested pumpkin spice and pushed it even when his colleagues were dubious, for, after all, at the time there were virtually no pumpkin spice products on the market, save for pumpkin spice coffee produced by a very few roasters, notably in Tampa, Las Vegas, and Allentown, Pennsylvania. But these were beans, not lattes.

It was, therefore, up to Dukes and his fellow testers to come up with the pumpkin spice latte, or PSL for short. They decorated the test lab in fall colors and ate literally dozens of pumpkin pies for inspiration. (Wouldn't I love an assignment like that!) After three months of rigorous and exhaustive experimentation, they finally settled on a blend of spices for their new PSL which used ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and cloves, but counterintuitively, no pumpkin. In fact, it would be a dozen years before Starbucks put actual pumpkin puree in the drink, which it does today.

Even without real pumpkin, the PSL was an immediate success. Now a global phenomenon, it has seen more than 400 million cups sold worldwide and spawned hundreds of pumpkin spice products in its wake. The flavor has become so popular that Sarah Lohman, a historical gastronomist, argues it might rank right up there with other essential flavors of American cuisine like black pepper and vanilla.

Truly, pumpkin spice has become the flavor of fall and a harbinger of the season--and for Starbucks, a harbinger of profits.

Pots de PSL

The pumpkin spice latte, or PSL to those who frequent Starbucks, is turned into an elegant dessert in this recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens.

• 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 4 eggs
• 6 tablespoons brewed espresso

Whisk together pumpkin, cheese, sugars, and pumpkin spice. Stir in eggs and espresso until combined. Pour into four one-cup ramekins and bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until centers are almost set. Cool and top with whipped cream and a light sprinkling of additional pumpkin pie spice.