Starbucks made pumpkin spice big, but the flavor goes well beyond lattes.

Until about 14 years ago, pumpkin spices stayed in familiar territory, adding their aromatic flavors to pies, cookies and the occasional glass of holiday eggnog. It was an open secret among adventurous chefs that the spices could be applied elsewhere, but doing so was rarely the selling point that it is today.

The pumpkin spice latte was introduced by Starbucks in 2003. Since then, more than 200 million PSLs have been sold, and the pumpkin spice umbrella has expanded far beyond the coffee chain. Pumpkin spices have become a major food trend, anointing about $500 million worth of food (and candle, soap and swag) product annually, and they appear in processed foods like Godiva truffles and Pringles potato chips, as well as the cookies and Pop Tarts.

We know they spice up a bowl of morning oatmeal, but would they work in a big greasy breakfast, or a chunky, savory supper? Would pumpkin spices mix with whatever drink might be within arm’s reach of one’s camp chair?

I decided to calibrate my pumpkin spice-o-meter to the original elixir: the Starbucks PSL.

A batch of pumpkin spices is typically about half cinnamon, followed by smaller amounts of ginger, nutmeg, allspice and clove. But the formula is customizable. I was in a rush and hungry, so I bought some premixed powder at the store. I also bought a rotisserie chicken. Driving home, the smell of pumpkin spices mingled with the smell of baked chicken, and it was very right.

I followed the guidance of enthusiastic YouTuber Talk Becky Talk, and learned her method of homemade PSL from scratch. Hers, like the Starbucks version, is prepared by mixing coffee with premade pumpkin spice syrup. Her spice mix, nutmeg-heavy and clove-free with added black pepper, demonstrates the range within which this mixture can be customized. (See Talk Becky Talk’s recipe, below right, for a good outline of how to start. You can introduce your own variations as far as spice and sweetness from there.)

I brought my PSL mixture in a jar to a hunting camp out, and when I arrived, my fellow hunters mocked me. But soon it was I who was doing the chuckling, as they lapped up my pumpkin spices in whatever form I served them. I cooked with the premixed pumpkin spice powder, and used the syrup as a condiment. The syrup made everything taste better, and the boys were particularly game to explore the various adult beverages – beyond coffee – with which Becky’s syrup could be mixed. Much progress was made.

Cooking with my dry pumpkin spice powder was rewarding too. As soon as it hit a greasy pan the smell would permeate the camp. It was a cheerful smell, easing the mind and soothing aching bodies.

For a snack, I pulled apart the remains of that rotisserie chicken and added the pieces to a pan of bacon, along with some chopped onions and two tablespoons of pumpkin spice powder.

It slowly cooked down into something resembling a Mexican molé – a dark, complex, rich, delicious chicken and bacon mole. If only I had saved the pumpkin seeds; a little chocolate powder would have put it over the edge.

I had other spicy ambitions as well. Pumpkin spice pizza, mini-muffins, French toast. Maybe even some handmade pumpkin spice gnocchi with sage butter. But after an exhausting day out hunting, all I had energy to do was pour the appropriate form of pumpkin spices onto the appropriate dish, and enjoy.

Nobody complained about pumpkin spices cooked into the spicy elk chili, or on the refried baked chicken, or the bacon and eggs, nor seemed to mind the syrup in Greek yogurt, or mixed with rum.

Every combination had something in common: A cheerful holiday smell.