Seasonings and Spices for Fall Cooking {Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Blend}

Written by Kristen of Dine and Dish.

With fall comes the yearning for food, which brings overall comfort and warmth to those who eat it. We retreat into our kitchens, hoping to provide our family with a meal that will “stick to their ribs”, bringing them warmth from the inside out. Hearty, rich dishes, full of flavor and made with spices and seasonings reminiscent of the season adorn our tables as we gather together in celebration of the cooler days.

There are certain spices and seasonings associated with this season. We draw on their use to provide essence to our favorite comfort foods, add them to our most beloved beverages and use candles reminiscent of their aroma to bring us refuge from the chilly temperatures outside.

Among the most common autumn spices and seasonings, cinnamon, ginger and cloves seem to be firmly associated with the season, making appearances in many of the recipes we associate with this time of year.

Photo by Kristen Doyle of Dine & Dish

Cloves

Grandma will tell you that the holiday ham just isn’t complete without the addition of cloves. Cloves are a spice you might be surprised to find in many of your comfort dishes. A small amount of cloves will go a long way to enhance recipes like mulled apple cider, marinara sauce and savory glazes.

Ginger

Ginger can be found in many recipes during the fall months. Ginger, in both the dried and fresh root form, is a spice routinely found in both sweet and savory recipes this time of year. Gingersnap cookies and gingerbread treats are included in many holiday gift trays. Pumpkin and apple pie recipes count on ginger to bring an added dimension of flavor to them. On the savory side ginger is often added to hearty curries, stir-fry recipes and marinades.

Cinnamon

From your morning toast and tea to homemade cookies baking in your oven, there is probably no other spice as widely recognized to give flavor to seasonal cooking as cinnamon. Cinnamon is commonly used in baking but can also be found giving an unexpected hint of flavor to chili, roasted vegetables and savory meat dishes.

One recipe to keep on hand to add a little fall flavor to many of your dishes is a Pumpkin Spice Blend. Skip buying the pre-made version at the store, and make up your own using the most common spices of autumn.

Pumpkin Spice Blend

This spice mixture will really sing if you can grind the spices yourself. Here are Aimee's tips for buying whole spices and three options for grinding them at home.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Condiments
Calories: 124kcal
Author: Kristen

Ingredients

  • 3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 Tablespoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoons ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoons ground cloves

Instructions

  • Place ingredients in a small bowl and combine. Store in an airtight container until ready to add to your favourite fall recipes.

Notes

If you wish to store the leftover ground spices or the spice mix longer than a week, keep them in the freezer where they will maintain their freshness for up to two months.

Nutrition

Calories: 124kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 169mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 70IU | Vitamin C: 0.9mg | Calcium: 279mg | Iron: 3.4mg

 

What is your favorite spice to use in the autumn months?

 

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23 Comments

  1. A great, informative little guest post here! Looking forward to enjoying all of these marvelous spices this season!

  2. I was just at the grocery store yesterday and refused to buy pumpkin pie spice (to make pumpkin granola)…..”There must be a recipe out there somewhere” I said to myself. What a great post to read first thing in the morning.

    1. Hi Jill – Pumpkin granola? Do tell. When I returned from the US to my home of Australia… well lets just say they don’t understand the whole sweet pumpkin concept. I’m determined to get people to like this treasure of a flavour. Would love to hear about what’s in your pumpkin granola!

  3. I never realized that the pumpkin spice didn’t actually contain some form of pumpkin. I love nearly everything about Autumn and cinnamon is probably my favorite spice during this time.

  4. I am definitely going to mix up some of that pumpkin spice! The tiny containers you get at the store go so fast because I put it in smoothies and hot chocolate and bread and ….

  5. I love ALL the spices in your mix! I love anything that remotely has to do with pumpkin pie. I have begun cooking more this year and I may just have to give a shot at making my OWN pumpkin pie!
    Bernice

  6. Autumn is my favorite season of the entire year. Weather, clothes, colors and especially everything related to pumpkins. I love cooking, and I’m in love with spices. I regularly bought them from Burmaspice.com; they’re simply amazing. They have the cloves, ginger, cinnamon and almost every spice you can imagine so you can make this, or any blend you like.
    Cheers!