Every season brings fresh traditions, and fall’s contributions include pumpkins, Halloween and Thanksgiving. One especially memorable feature of fall is its food. Everyone has good memories of eating turkey for Thanksgiving with friends and family or enjoying a pumpkin spice latte with friends. But can this seasonal food go overboard?
Many stores market fall food like Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s is known for its unique twists on classic foods. They have a variety of seasonal food from squash mac n’ cheese to pumpkin cheesecake. These seasonal foods are often so sought after that they sell out quickly.
Starbucks also sells a variety of seasonal food with the pumpkin spice latte being the most iconic. A representative of Starbucks said in an interview with The Today Show that Starbucks had sold around 424,000,000 pumpkin spice lattes since its release in 2003. This shows that fall themes can be used as a successful marketing technique.
“Fall food is never overrated! It’s delicious and makes the house smell amazing,” Ms. Bofto, who teaches food essentials, said.
As for Thanksgiving food, most Americans enjoy a delicious, large dinner with many foods. Turkey is the most common Thanksgiving food, and is symbolic of the Thanksgiving holiday in general. Cranberry sauce is also typically a part of any Thanksgiving meal. It’s tart and often flavored with citrus fruits, like lemon or orange. Many people also enjoy stuffing. Stuffing made of small cut up pieces of bread that are often mixed with herbs. It can be put inside of something else or be served as a side dish. A Thanksgiving feast is one of the reasons people enjoy Thanksgiving.
But people enjoy fall food for a variety of reasons and Thanksgiving is only one. Some like the feeling it gives or enjoying it with friends or family members.
“I love anything fall. The food is one of the reasons fall feels so cozy,” Liam Snyder ‘23 said.
They also enjoy the food because they like specific flavors. Apple is one of the familiar fall flavors many Americans enjoy. Many Oregon farms also harvest and sell apples with fiji, honeycrisp and gala apples being the most commonly grown apples in Oregon. Apple pie is an American classic that people buy or they try to bake it and master the art of pie making. A traditional apple pie has a flaky, buttery crust and a delicious filling. Apple cider and apple cider donuts are also appealing parts of fall for many.
“My favorite type of fall food is anything pumpkin or apple,” Bofto said.
Pumpkin pie is just as loved by Americans as the fall classic as apple pie is. Pumpkin pie usually has a flaky crust and a custard based spiced pumpkin filling. It is also often topped with a dollop of whipped cream. However, others think that flavors like pumpkin can grow tiresome.
“I think pumpkin spice is very overrated. I prefer food from other seasons,” Julia Buss ‘20 said.
Obviously not everyone agrees on how much fall food should be enjoyed. Some people hate it, while others love it. It’s a controversial topic that has people on both sides.
