Golden Spices of the Harvest: Turmeric, Ginger and the Story of Pumpkin Spice
Welcome along, fellow time travelers, and happy Halloween! As the evenings grow cool, kitchens fill with the scents of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. These warm spices feel like the very taste of autumn, but each one has traveled a long and colorful road to reach our Halloween tables.
Turmeric: the golden root
Turmeric is the bright golden root of Curcuma longa, a relative of ginger native to South Asia. It has been used in India for some four thousand years as a spice, a dye and a part of daily life. Turmeric gives curry its sunny color, and in Indian tradition it is part of joyful celebrations, including weddings, where a turmeric paste ceremony called haldi is held for the bride and groom. In Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese practice, where it is called jiang huang, turmeric has long been traditionally used to support overall wellness. Marco Polo, traveling in the 1200s, described it as a vegetable "that has all the properties of true saffron."
Ginger: the spice of sailors
Ginger, the knobby root of Zingiber officinale, came from Southeast Asia and traveled west with ancient traders. The Romans loved it, and in medieval England a pound of ginger could cost as much as a sheep. Sailors carried ginger on long voyages, and it was a treasured warming spice in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic cooking. Queen Elizabeth I is often credited with having the first gingerbread men made, shaped to look like visiting dignitaries.
Cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
Cinnamon came from Sri Lanka, while nutmeg and cloves came from the tiny Banda and Maluku islands of Indonesia, once the only places on Earth where they grew. These "Spice Islands" inspired great voyages of exploration. By the 1800s, spices were affordable everywhere, and Victorian cooks used them generously in puddings, cakes and mulled cider.
Spiced cider and mulled drinks
Warm spiced drinks have welcomed autumn for centuries. In medieval England, revelers drank "lamb's wool," a frothy mix of hot ale, roasted apples, sugar, nutmeg and ginger, on Halloween and other feast nights. Wassail, a hot spiced cider or ale, was shared from a large bowl with songs and toasts for good health. In colonial America, families simmered fresh-pressed apple cider with cinnamon sticks and cloves. A mug of hot spiced cider after an evening of trick-or-treating is a delicious way to carry on these old harvest traditions.
The birth of "pumpkin spice"
Recipes for spiced pumpkin pie go back centuries, but ready-mixed "pumpkin pie spice" arrived in the 1930s, when spice companies began selling a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves (or allspice). Today pumpkin spice flavors everything from lattes to candles, but its roots are in the old harvest kitchen.
Vitalogy's cheerful autumn advice
Our shop takes its name from Vitalogy, the beloved 1904 household encyclopedia of health. Its authors were great believers in fresh air, sunshine and walking, and they encouraged readers to step outdoors every day, whatever the season. A brisk October walk through crunchy leaves, followed by a warm spiced cider, sounds like advice we can all enjoy!
A golden Halloween
Stir some cinnamon into your cider, bake a gingerbread cookie or two, and take a walk under the autumn sky. Turmeric is one of the traditional ingredients in our Cholesterol Formula, and you can see its full formula at VitalogyShoppe.com.
So tell me, fellow time travelers: what is your favorite spice of the season?
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This post shares history, folklore and traditional uses only.
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