Many people use pumpkin pie spice throughout the holidays in several dishes. What people may not realize is that it is an actual spice blend, rather than something special. Read this article to find the answer to “How can I make my own pumpkin pie spice?”
What is Pumpkin Pie Spice?
Pumpkin pie spice is a spice mixture, most commonly used to make pumpkin pie during the holidays. While it may make some recipes easier to prepare, it is not a necessity to have in your spice rack. Instead, you can make your own pumpkin pie spice with just a few other spice ingredients you more than likely already have in the cabinet.
Making Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice
How can I make my own pumpkin pie spice? To make your own pumpkin pie spice, all you need is: ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add 2 teaspoons of ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon to a glass jar. Stir the spices together to mix them well, and store with a tight seal. If you want to make more at a time, simply double, triple, or quadruple the recipe.
Health Benefits of Pumpkin Pie Spice Ingredients
- Ginger offers fat burning benefits.
- Nutmeg offers brain stimulating benefits to help reduce stress. It is also known to have anti-inflammatory benefits.
- Cinnamon offers many benefits, including aiding nausea, diarrhea, and relief of menstrual cramps. It is also thought to help keep the blood sugar stable.
Additional Pumpkin Spice Mix Ingredients
Depending on the recipe, you may also find it calls for ingredients such as allspice and cloves. Cloves are very strong and many people do not like the flavor. Store bought pumpkin pie spices usually have a small amount of cloves; however, our standard recipe above will work for most people. If you choose to add allspice and cloves, add them a little at a time, by a fraction of a teaspoon until you get the taste you want.
- Allspice offers digestive benefits, aiding in the relief of nausea, gas, bloating and cramping. Like cinnamon, it is also thought to help regulate the blood sugar.
- Cloves offer antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antiseptic properties. It is known to help with digestion and boost the metabolism.
An Extra Touch
If you want to add an extra touch to the pumpkin pie spice to make it a little sweeter, add a couple tablespoons of sugar to the same mixture above. Adding the sweetener makes the pumpkin pie spice ideal for hot chocolate, or onto buttered toast. It’s like cinnamon sugar with a twist.
Making a Healthier Pumpkin Pie Spice
To make the pumpkin pie spice even healthier, you can opt for fresh spices, rather than pre-packaged. The fresh spices will be a bit stronger than the ground packaged alternatives, so make adjustments accordingly, adding and mixing a little at a time. The spices offer great health benefits, and fresh is always better because it offers more nutrients. Fresh ingredients will cost more, but the flavor will be more intense and the health benefits will be intensified. We recommend grinding it yourself to get the closest possible measurement and ratio. Now that you know the answer to “How can I make my own pumpkin pie spice?”, you are prepared for any recipe calling for this spice.
Images in this article are available from Flickr under the Creative Commons license.
