Cinnamon

• Cinnamon is the most predominant spice in a pumpkin spice blend. Cinnamon can either be bought in sticks or a fine powder. For the purpose of making a spice blend, the powdered version works best. If you have some leftover after making your pumpkin spice, sprinkle it on coffee or add to chocolate desserts to intensify the chocolate flavor.

Ginger

• Ginger is sold in a variety of forms: whole root, pickled, candied and a dried powder. To make a pumpkin spice blend, only powdered ginger will do. Whole root and pickled are inappropriately flavored for this purpose, but you can use candied ginger as a fun garnish on your pumpkin pie.

Cloves

• Cloves are best bought whole and ground. Use a coffee grinder for this purpose to get them ground into a fine powder. If you must buy them already ground, buy in small quantities because the flavor dissipates quickly.

Nutmeg

• Nutmeg is sold whole or ground. Again, whole is best for this purpose. Ground nutmeg loses its flavor quickly while whole nutmeg can keep indefinitely. You will need a micro-plane grater to grate the nutmeg. If you do not have one, buy ground nutmeg. Use it up in chai tea, white sauces or any dish using dark, leafy greens.