How to make a traditional pumpkin spice mix at home.

As Halloween approaches, parties are planned, costumes are chosen, candy is bought and pumpkin spice makes its annual appearance as the star ingredient in an astounding array of products. From coffees to cookies, to cakes, to saltines, detergents, cosmetics and more, if you can eat it, drink it, clean with it or dab it on your body, there's probably a pumpkin spice version of that product. Pumpkin spice is the fall flavor that never seems to go out of style. However, there’s one curious fact that likely escapes most people’s attention. Traditional pumpkin spice does not actually contain any pumpkin.

So, what is pumpkin spice?

Pumpkin spice is a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves from various countries, predominantly in Asia. These are mixed with allspice, made from the dried berries of a tree found in Central America and the Caribbean islands.

Who invented pumpkin spice?

Variations of the cosmopolitan mix have been used around the world for hundreds of years. In the 1600s, colonizers from the Netherlands, who took control of the Spice Islands in what is now Indonesia, added cardamom and white pepper to the main ingredients to create a similar concoction called Speculaaskruiden, which remains a popular flavor in some Dutch desserts.

Toward the end of the 17th century, the British blended spices from their own colonies into a mixed spice used to flavor meat and fish. And around the same time, the spice blend found its way to the New World, where it appeared in the first known American cookbook, American Cookery, created by Amelia Simmons.

However, it wasn’t until 1934 that the mixture we now know as pumpkin spice got a familiar name. For that, we can thank the American spice seller, McCormick, who began manufacturing a product called Pumpkin Pie Spice. The name literally described its purpose, as the spice mix was intended to flavor the canned pumpkin purée commonly used in pumpkin pies at the time. McCormick shortened the name to just Pumpkin Spice in the 1960s.

When does pumpkin spice season start?

The United States is unique around the world in consuming pumpkin spice as a seasonal food or beverage. Unofficially, pumpkin spice season usually begins in late August. In popular culture, the start date is dictated by the return to the Starbucks’ menu of Pumpkin Spice lattes. The coffee company began selling Pumpkin Spice lattes in 2003, and they’ve since become a fall obsession.

Yes, there's no doubt that Americans love their pumpkin spice. So much so that the phrase officially entered the lexicon in 2022, when pumpkin spice became one of the newest entries in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pumpkin spice recipe: Make the perfect mix at home