McCormick's Invention:

A Food Scientist Breaks Down the Pumpkin Spice Phenomenon

5 Questions With NC State University’s Gabriel Keith Harris

By D'Lyn Ford, Cals Weekly

Food scientist Keith Harris, left, celebrated with team members at the new 321 Coffee location on NC State's Centennial Campus after he enjoyed a pumpkin spice latte.

Weeks before fall officially begins, the aroma of pumpkin spice swirls in the air outside coffee shops. But for fans of this fragrant blend of caffeine and spices, it’s never too early to celebrate autumn.

For help tracing the origins of pumpkin spice and how this ubiquitous flavor made its way from hot beverages into foods of all kinds, we consulted Gabriel Keith Harris, an NC State University food science professor and coffee researcher. Harris studies how food processing affects the health properties of foods. He teaches classes in food chemistry, processing and analysis in NC State’s Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, where he’s co-director of undergraduate food science programs.

Pumpkin spice season seems to arrive earlier every year. How long ago did pumpkin spice flavors get their start?

The spices that we often associate with pumpkins and pumpkin pie — and much later with this pumpkin spice latte that I’m sipping right now — were first put together in the 1600s, when those spices were united. Soon after the first supermarkets opened in the U.S., McCormick FINISH READING HERE

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