Natalia Naman-Temesgen: Beware the return of seasonal flavor

In a month or so, we'll start to see them popping up on doorsteps. Pots of perennials will be replaced by America's favorite squash: the pumpkin. And I'd like us to remember that is really what a pumpkin is, folks: it's a squash.

But somehow over the past few years, Americans have bought into the incredible hype that says a pumpkin is far, far more than that. PSL is an acronym that apparently means something to a wide swath of our population. It stands for Pumpkin Spice Latte. Starbucks coined the acronym and will unveil their infamous seasonal drink on Tuesday.

This year, the Pumpkin Spice Latte will no longer contain caramel coloring, but for the first time... will contain... (gasp!) actual pumpkin.

Starbucks set up a special website last Friday where fans could enter a secret code (it was "pumpkin") and potentially get a text that would give them the ability to order a PSL over the weekend. Because who can contain themselves for three days when the promise of sugary, spicy, syrupy goodness is almost back again?

I don't mean to be snarky. I know Pumpkin Spice Lattes are yummy. As are pumpkin spice muffins, pumpkin spice granola bars, pumpkin spice bagels, pumpkin spice donuts, and probably whatever other baked good you infuse with sugar, spice, and everything nice. But autumn doesn't even start for another two weeks, which means we've got at least another four weeks of summer down here. Why oh why has the cloud of Pumpkin Spice already begun to descend?

We won't get inundated with pecan pie, caramel or cranberry-flavored goodies for a while longer. Spiced pine cones will probably lag a full month or two behind the pumpkin spice candles at home. All of those scents and flavors tend to signify the fall season, but only one manages to dominate from the summer through the end of winter. Technomic states that one in 10 nationwide eateries serve pumpkin-"something" by this point in the year.

If you can believe it, pumpkin has even made its way to the pet food aisle. Pumpkin-flavored dog food has brought in over $12 million in the last year, up about $10 million from the year before. It's said to have some kind of positive effect on a pup's digestive system. But I wouldn't be surprised if dog owners buy it more often in the fall, while their own pumpkin sensors are on overload.

The thing that has left me so baffled is that of all food items to catapult to this celebrity status, it is the nearly flavorless pumpkin. Be honest: actual pumpkin tastes like whatever else you put in it. It is used in spicy curries just as easily as sweet pies. And maybe therein lies the rub...

Pumpkin is the ultimate ingredient to make a fall product a best seller, because it's a blank canvas. It is prime real estate. It can be made into whatever our consumer-y hearts desire -- and what better feeling is there?

Natalia Naman Temesgen is an independent contractor. She can be reached at nntemesgen@gmail.com

This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Natalia Naman-Temesgen: Beware the return of seasonal flavor ."